Mother welcomes him tearfully
“Horror” ends after six years: German returns from Turkish prison
26.06.2024, 21:30
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In 2018, a rideshare in Turkey landed Patrick K. in trouble. The German was arrested in a military restricted zone and sentenced to prison. More than six years later, he is finally free – and is greeted with tears by his family.
After more than six years in prison in Turkey, Patrick K., who comes from Giessen, is back in Germany. The 35-year-old was welcomed by his family at Frankfurt Airport in the evening with flowers and posters, including one with the inscription “Welcome home, dear Patrick”.
According to Turkish sources, the then 29-year-old was arrested in March 2018 in a military exclusion zone on the border with Syria. The public prosecutor’s office in Turkey had accused him of wanting to join the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria. Like the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK, this is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey. In October 2018, K. was sentenced to more than six years in prison for membership in a terrorist organization.
Kraicker’s lawyers had denied his membership in the group that fought alongside the US against the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS). His mother explained that her son’s confession was made under pressure and without an interpreter.
They hugged each other in tears when they returned that evening. “I’m overwhelmed,” said the mother. “You look good,” was the first thing her son said to her when they saw each other again. His mother confirmed on Tuesday that Patrick K. had only been in Turkey to go hiking. “My son is absolutely apolitical.” After his room in a hostel had been ransacked, he sought help, hitchhiked and was finally let out of a car in the border area with Syria with the statement “you’ll find help here.” And: “That’s when the horror began.”