Merkel blasts Turkey for the arrest of German activist , say "unjustified"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday criticised Turkey's detention of six human rights activists including a German, Peter Steudtner as "absolutely unjustified", saying the German government would do all it could to secure his release.

Merkel made the remarks on Tuesday at a ceremony for German top athletes, saying the case was of "the utmost concern".

We are firmly convinced that this arrest is absolutely unjustified. We, as the German government, condemn it. We declare our solidarity with him and all the others arrested, Merkel said.

And the German government will do all it can, on all levels, to secure his release, she added.

Merkel said the arrest marked another case "where innocent people had been caught up in wheels of the justice system and wound up in detention".

A spokeswoman for Germany's foreign office said linking an advocate of human rights and democracy, like Steudtner, to supporters of terrorists was "absurd".

Eser, the German Peter Steudtner and eight other activists were detained this month while attending a workshop on digital security near Istanbul. 

One of those remanded in custody on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization was Amnesty International's Turkey director, Idil Eser. 

Amnesty said truth and justice had become "total strangers".