German newspaper says Turkey to renew reporter’s credentials

BERLIN – A German newspaper says its longtime Turkey correspondent is having his media accreditation restored nearly a month after he had to leave the country because Turkish authorities refused to renew it.

The Berlin-based Tagesspiegel said Monday that Thomas Seibert was back in Istanbul and the Turkish government’s information office said he would receive the necessary press credentials.

The newspaper quoted Seibert as saying he was “glad that all misunderstandings have been cleared up.”

Seibert has worked for Tagesspiegel in Turkey since 1997. He and the head of German public broadcaster ZDF’s Istanbul studio, Joerg Brase, had their accreditation renewal applications turned down. Both men left Turkey on March 10.

The German government protested to Turkish authorities. Brase’s media credentials were quickly extended and he returned to Turkey.