German police have raided the office of the Turkish language daily Sabah, arresting senior journalists Ismail Erel and Cemil Albay, employees of the newspaper told Anadolu news agency.
Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun condemned the move on Wednesday, saying the arrests came upon a complaint from registered Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) member Cevheri Guven.
"The early morning raids on the homes and offices of Turkish journalists, as well as their detention and the confiscation of their equipment due to their reporting against the terrorist organisation FETO in Germany, are a clear violation of freedom of the press," Altun said in a Tweet.
"We find this move by Germany to silence journalists unacceptable, and we are concerned about the pressure on the freedom of the press in the country," he added.
The arrests triggered protests from local journalist associations, while the Turkish Foreign Ministry contacted German authorities and demanded the immediate release of the journalists, according to Anadolu.
"We call on German authorities, who protect FETO members and excuse the activities of this bloody terrorist organisation, to turn back from this faulty attitude," Altun said.
He urged Germany to sincerely cooperate with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism, and to release the detained Turkish journalists as soon as possible.
Erel is the German Representative of Sabah newspaper, and Albay is the Managing Editor of Sabah Europe newspaper. They were both deployed in the city of Frankfurt.
