Turkey: Erdoğan’s political prisoners

What is the impact on individuals, their families and relationships in a country where a fair trial is not guaranteed? A new documentary highlights the stories of German citizens arrested while visiting Turkey, accused of terrorism or political crimes.

Those affected, including journalist Meşale Tolu, singer Hozan Canê, and their families share their experiences of arbitrary detention, despair, hopelessness and even suicidal thoughts. The documentary also features the perspective of the former German ambassador in Ankara, Martin Erdmann, who had direct contact with some of the most prominent German political prisoners in Turkey. Tolu and others believe their detention was politically charged, and that they were used as bargaining chips by the Turkish president.The film aims to shed light on a complicated relationship between Germany and Turkey, and how the legal proceedings of detained German citizens would affect the relationship, including those German-Turkish citizens living in the crossfire between two countries.