dpa-AFX International , Germany
 Saturday 5:42 PM GMT



German author arrested during vacation in Spain on Turkey's behest



Berlin (dpa) - Dogan Akhanli, a Germany-based author of Turkish
origin, has been detained in Spain on the behest of Turkey, his lawyer
told dpa, though it is unclear what he is being accused of. The German
Foreign Ministry on Saturday confirmed only that it knew of the
incident and was working on offering consular support.

Spanish police, who also said the detention request came from Turkey,
told local media that Akhanli would be handed over to authorities.
Akhanli's lawyer, Ilias Uyar, told a German newspaper that a so-called
red notice from Interpol had been out for the author. He was therefore
arrested Saturday morning while on vacation in Granada. Akhanli has
written extensively about the Armenian genocide, and the arrest was
meant as the latest shot in the ongoing spat between Turkey and
Germany, according to Spiegel, citing security sources. The PEN
writer's association said the arrest was 'clearly politically
motivated,' and the head of the group's German branch, Sascha
Feuchert, called on Spain not to extradite Akhanli to Turkey. Akhanli,
a German citizen, has been living in Germany since he fled Turkey in
1991. Akhanli was cleared in absentia by a Turkish court in 2011 after
being wanted for robbery and homicide since 1989. However, his
exoneration was later overturned by a higher court, saying he was
linked to terrorists. A red notice issued by Interpol is a request
from a member country or international tribunal to arrest an
individual pending extradition. However, member countries are not
forced to arrest those flagged. Copyright dpa