Turkey expelled ten Western ambassadors declared by Erdogan’s government to be “unwelcome people”. The diplomats had signed an appeal for the release of the anti-Erdogan philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has been detained for over 4 years. This was announced by the Turkish president himself.
Representatives from the United States, France and Germany are involved. Then Canada, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.
The dissident was arrested at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport on October 18, 2017, with crimes linked to an investigation into the 2016 Turkish coup attempt and the Gezi Park protests, which investigators said aimed to overthrow the government.
He founded the organization Anadolu Kultur, which has always been committed to the promotion of art, culture and the fight against the violation of human rights. He has been an interlocutor of the European institutions for years. Well known at home and abroad, Kavala has already announced that he will not take part in the hearings of the trial, deeming it unfair.
The diplomats had launched a joint appeal to enforce a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which declared the detention of the philanthropist illegitimate, noting violations of Kavala’s rights and asking for his release, which never took place. Ankara continues to not consider the decision of the Strasbourg Court, which had accepted the requests of the philanthropist’s lawyers, to be binding.
The threat of serious measures had already been expressed by Erdogan himself. “I have ordered our foreign minister to declare these ambassadors as persona non grata as soon as possible,” the president said during a visit to central Turkey, without however giving a precise date on the possible expulsion of diplomats.