President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday said he instructed the Turkish foreign minister to declare ambassadors of 10 countries to Turkey persona non grata after their statement calling for the release of Osman Kavala.
“I have ordered our foreign minister to declare these 10 ambassadors as persona non grata as soon as possible,” Erdoğan said, referring to a term used in diplomacy which signifies the first step before expulsion.
Kavala, a Turkish businessperson, has been imprisoned for four years now over his alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests and subsequent riots.
On late Monday, the embassies of the United States, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden called for Kavala’s release in a joint statement.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned Tuesday the ambassadors of these countries, accusing the countries of meddling in the Turkish judiciary.
Read the full story on Daily Sabah
