BERLIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Another German couple has been arrested in Turkey, Germany's Foreign Office told reporters on Monday.
There were "concrete indications" that the two German citizens of Turkish origin had been taken into police custody in Istanbul over the weekend. One of the affected individuals has since been released again.
A spokesperson for the German Foreign Office said that it was yet to receive any official information from Turkey's government about the incident. He urged Germans "in the utmost explicitness" to carefully consider the risks of traveling to Turkey at the moment.
Only a few days earlier, another German couple of Turkish descent was arrested at Antalya airport. The woman's lawyer confirmed to the Foreign Office that she was released four days later. Ankara has charged both suspects with connections to the movement of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Guelen whom Turkey blames for a failed military coup in July 2016.
The rapidly growing number of German citizens in Turkish prisons has further strained already tense relations between Berlin and Ankara.
In response to last week's arrests, the German Foreign Office has added additional travel guidelines for Turkey cautioning against arbitrary arrests in holiday resorts. Turkey retaliated on Saturday by issuing a travel warning for Germany on the grounds of potential "racist incidents, behavior, or verbal attacks" on its citizens.
Nevertheless, Berlin continues to shy away from the step of issuing a formal travel warning. "We will not allow ourselves to be drawn to abusing travel guidelines politically," the Foreign Office spokesperson said.
