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France

Freed journalist arrives back in France

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By Catherine Hardy  with AFP
Freed journalist arrives back in France

A French student journalist, held for more than a month in Turkey, has arrived back in France.

Loup Bureau says he is both relieved and surprised to have been freed on Friday.

The 27-year-old was met by his family and French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris.


Why was he detained?

Officials in Turkey suspected him of belonging to a terrorist organisation.

He was arrested on 26th of July on the border between Turkey and Iraq.

He had photos in his possession showing him in the company of Syrian Kurd fighters.


Did the French authorities help him out?

Yes. The conditions of his detention were “difficult” at first, he says, but said “from the moment the President of the Republic openly called for me to be freed, things changed. The guards seemed to understand that I was not a terrorist.”


France’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, spent two days in Ankara this week meeting with the Turkish authorities, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

However, according to Mr Bureau’s lawyer, Martin Pradel, the case has not been closed.

“He still faces terrorism-related charges but is free. The judicial process is still ongoing in Turkey”, he told reporters.

What the French government is saying


President Emmanuel Macron described Bureau’s return as a “great relief for us all” on Twitter.