German journalist Mesale Tolu, who had been imprisoned in Istanbul on terror-related charges, returned to her home country and vowed to continue fighting for those “still not free” in Turkey.
"I may be here today, but hundreds of colleagues, opposition activists, lawyers, students -- 70,000 students are in prison -- are still not free," she told reporters on August 26 upon her arrival in Stuttgart.
Tolu, who was born to Turkish parents in Germany, was arrested in Turkey in 2017 on charges of terrorist propaganda and membership in the extreme-left MLKP party, which has been designated a terror organization by Ankara.
She denied the charges and has claimed "harassment" by the Turkish judicial system.
She was released from prison on December 18 but was barred from leaving the country until an Istanbul court on August 20 lifted a travel ban against her.
A trial for the 33-year-old Tolu, a journalist and translator for the leftist news agency ETHA, is still scheduled in Istanbul on October 16.
Tolu's support group, called Freiheit fuer Mesale Tolu (Freedom for Mesale Tolu), said it has been told her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, must remain in Turkey.
Tens of thousands of civil servants and journalists were detained after the failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.