Turkey grants consular access to detained German journalist: German spokesman

BERLIN (Reuters) - Turkey has given German consular officials permission to visit journalist Mesale Tolu, a German citizen who has been detained on charges of advancing "terrorist propaganda", a spokesman for the German foreign ministry said on Monday. German-Turkish relations have come under growing strain in recent months, after Ankara denied German parliamentarians permission to visit German soldiers serving on Turkish soil in the anti-Islamic State coalition and the detention of Tolu and fellow journalist Deniz Yucel on similar charges. Yucel had previously received consur visits, but requests to visit Tolu had been repeatedly denied. Diplomats will now be able to visit Tolu on June 2, the spokesman said. "We have received this information by phone, but are still waiting for written confirmation," he added. Thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey as part of a crackdown on alleged perpetrators of last July's failed putsch against Presidnet Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Critics accuse him of using the dragnet to rid himself of political opponents. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt, Editing by Michael Nienaber)