Germany's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the Turkish ambassador over the detention of a German and several other human rights activists pending trial for allegedly aiding an armed terrorist group.
A spokesman for the ministry said that the ambassador had been told "very clearly" that the arrests were unreasonable and asked him to convey to the government in Ankara Germany's demand for the activists' immediate release.
Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel would interrupt his summer holiday in order to respond to what the spokesman referred to as a "dramatic escalation."
The activists were detained in a July 5 police raid on a hotel on the island of Buyukada. They include Amnesty International's Turkey director Idil Eser.
