By Giwa SHILE
German-Turkish journalist and translator, Mesale Tolu, who was imprisoned 2017 in Turkey on terrorism-related charges, was on her way back to Germany on Sunday with her nearly 4-year-old son.
She is set to land at Stuttgart airport. She confirmed that she was on her way back home in a tweet, “After 17 months, heading home” with a photo of her and her son in the airport.
A spokesman for the Tolu’s family, Baki Selcuk, also confirmed that everything went fine at airport security.
Tolu was born in Ulm, in southern Germany, where she went to school, and her family lives in the neighbouring town of Neu-Ulm.
It was announced Monday that a Turkish court had lifted a travel ban on Tolu, eight months after she was released from prison, but the trial against her on terrorism-related charges will continue.
Her next hearing is on Oct. 16 in Turkey.
Tolu’s father, Ali Riza said his daughter would still go back to Turkey. “She will definitely travel to Turkey again, provided that Turkey lets her in,” he said.
The 33-year-old journalist for leftist news agency ETHA was arrested in May 2017.
Tolu along with 17 Turkish defendants faces charges of terrorist propaganda and membership of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), an extreme-left group designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey.
She was released from custody pending trial on Dec. 18th but had been prohibited from leaving the country. Her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, must remain in Turkey.
