Deniz Yücel presented himself at the police headquarters in Istanbul. The Turkey correspondent for “Die Welt” was wanted in connection with reports on a hacker attack on the email account of the Turkish Energy Minister.

The Turkey correspondent for “Die Welt”, Deniz Yücel, is currently in police custody. Yücel, who was wanted in connection with reports on a hacker attack on the email account of the Turkish Energy Minister, presented himself at the police headquarters in Istanbul on Tuesday to answer investigators’ questions. According to the regulations of the state of emergency that currently prevails in Turkey, he can be held in police custody for up to 14 days without a hearing before a judge. State prosecutors can then apply for him to be remanded in custody. Yücel’s apartment was searched.

The 43-year-old, who holds dual Turkish-German citizenship, had reported – like numerous other journalists from international media – on emails that the leftist Turkish hacker collective RedHack had acquired from the private email account of Energy Minister Berat Albayrak.

Among other subjects, the emails concerned control of Turkish media groups and influencing the public by means of fake users on the messaging service Twitter. Energy Minister Albayrak is a son-in-law of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The emails have been readily accessible on the whistle-blower platform Wikileaks since early December.

The authorities accuse Yücel of being a member of a terrorist organization, misuse of data and terrorist propaganda.

Since late December, another six journalists from Turkish media have been arrested in connection with the email affair. Three of them are in custody, each accused of membership of a different terrorist organization. If sentenced they could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

“Our correspondent Deniz Yücel does excellent work,” said “Welt” Editor-in-Chief Ulf Poschardt. “The Turkish government constantly stresses that Turkey is beholden to the rule of law. Therefore we trust that fair proceedings will prove his innocence.”

Poschardt also appealed to the Turkish authorities not to remand the correspondent in custody. “Deniz Yücel has demonstrated his willingness to co-operate in proceedings that follow the rule of law. This, and the recognition of the freedom of the press enshrined in the Turkish constitution, ought to figure in this decision.”