Dutch Journalist Heads Home after Turkey Lifted Travel Ban

Turkish-Dutch journalist Ebru Umar, who was slapped with a travel ban in Turkey after being arrested there last month, is on her way back to the Netherlands, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said late Tuesday.

"Columnist Ebru Umar can travel back to the Netherlands. Turkey on Tuesday lifted her travel ban," Koenders announced in a statement issued in The Hague.

She was already on her way home, he added.

Umar was briefly arrested in Turkey just over two weeks ago for tweeting comments critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The well-known Dutch feminist journalist of Turkish origin said she was hauled out of bed and arrested at her holiday home in Kusadasi, a resort town in western Turkey.

She was questioned for 16 hours then released but not allowed to leave country. She had to report to police twice a week until now, as a flurry of diplomatic efforts unfolded to get her back to the Netherlands.

"It's excellent news that she can come back," the Dutch foreign minister said in the statement.

"A lot has been done behind the scenes and it's good she's heading back home," Koenders added.

The feisty columnist however could still face charges in Turkey and will have to await the outcome of a judicial inquiry, the statement said.

"It remains to be seen whether she will indeed be prosecuted," it added.

Umar's treatment has sparked anger in the liberal-minded Netherlands, and Umar herself previously tweeted out a video with a message of thanks for the "heartwarming" support.

Trials in Turkey for insulting Erdogan have multiplied since his election to the presidency in August 2014, with nearly 2,000 such cases currently open.