Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said 10 ambassadors were "persona non grata" after they issued a statement in support of Osman Kavala who is in prison in connection with the attempted military coup in 2016.
The Turkish president said on Saturday that he instructed the foreign minister to declare 10 ambassadors persona non grata over their statement on the ongoing case of Osman Kavala.
The envoys who called for Kavala's release "should either understand Turkey or they should leave," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a ceremony in the central Eskisehir province. "It is not a tribal state as you might consider. This is Turkey."
Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry had summoned the ambassadors of these countries, accusing them of meddling in the Turkish judiciary.
Statement
Here is the text of the statement:
Today marks four years since the ongoing detention of Osman Kavala began. The continuing delays in his trial, including by merging different cases and creating new ones after a previous acquittal, cast a shadow over respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judiciary system.
Together, the embassies of Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America believe a just and speedy resolution to his case must be in line with Turkey's international obligations and domestic laws. Noting the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights on the matter, we call for Turkey to secure his urgent release.
The UK, Italy and Spain are among the most prominent countries that did not sign the statement calling for Kavala's release. The statement was largely coordinated by the US.
According to the Guardian, the decision by the Turkish president ErdoÄŸan to declare 10 ambassadors - including those from seven Nato allies - as persona non grata, threatens to open the biggest rift with the west during his two decades in power.
Carrying out the expulsions would send Turkey's relationships with Europe and the US to an all-time low, risk further turmoil for the Turkish lira, and accelerate Ankara's drift away from the west. Seven of the countries involved are Turkey's Nato allies, The Guardian said.
Who is Kavala
Osman Kavala was a founding member of the Open Society Foundation in Turkey, an international network created by the American-Hungarian billionaire George Soros. In 2018, the Foundation ceased all its activities in Turkey.
Kavala was first arrested over criminal charges related to the 2013 Gezi protests, a small number of demonstrations in Istanbul that later transformed into nationwide protests which left eight protesters and a police officer dead.
He was acquitted in Gezi protests case in February 2020, but a fresh arrest warrant was issued against him only hours later, this time for a separate case accusing him of being involved in the June 15, 2016, coup attempt.
The European court of human rights in 2019 called for his immediate release, saying the democracy campaigner's extended time in custody was not supported by evidence of an offence and served the ulterior purpose of "reducing him to silence with a chilling effect on civil society".
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