3 yıl önce

Turkey could expel 10 Western envoys over remarks on Osman Kavala case

President Erdogan tells Foreign Minister Cavusoglu that Turkey cannot host the ambassadors, days after envoys from US, Germany and eight other Western countries called for the jailed businessman’s release.

Reuters

Turkey could potentially expel the ambassadors of the US, Germany and eight other Western countries, President Erdogan said at the end of a trip to Nigeria on October 20, 2021.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara could expel the ambassadors of the United States, Germany and eight other Western countries over remarks on the detention and trial of a businessman.

"I told our foreign minister that we cannot have the luxury of hosting them in our country," Erdogan told reporters in comments reported on Thursday.

The ambassadors of US, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden shared a joint statement on social media on Monday, calling for Osman Kavala's release, claiming the ongoing case has cast a shadow over Turkey.

The 10 envoys were summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Kavala's next court hearing is set for November 26.

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.

The businessman was later remanded into custody by an Istanbul court as part of a probe into the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, with prosecutors accusing him of spying.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) stands accused of orchestrating the coup attempt of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 wounded.

Turkey also accuses FETO of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies