Erdogan declared the ambassadors of ten countries persona non grata

Ambassadors from ten countries have issued an open letter demanding the release of a Turkish businessman who has been in prison for several years. In response, the country’s president, Erdogan, declared them persona non grata.

Photo: Internet

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to expel the ambassadors of ten countries that supported businessman Osman Kavala.

The heads of diplomatic missions from Germany, France, the USA, Canada, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, as well as New Zealand, Sweden, and Norway should be “immediately” declared persona non grata, Erdogan stated during a speech in the city of Eskişehir on Saturday.

The ten countries reacted differently to the statements made by the President of Turkey.

The German Foreign Ministry, commenting on Erdogan’s words, only stated that it is conducting “intensive consultations” with the other nine countries.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry reported that the Norwegian embassy in Ankara has not yet received any information from Turkish authorities regarding the expulsion of the ambassador.

The Swedish and Dutch Foreign Ministries also stated that they have not yet received any official requests from Turkey.

The authorities of Denmark and the Netherlands noted that they will continue to exert pressure on Turkey regarding human rights and democracy.

The embassies of these countries called on Ankara on October 18 to release entrepreneur Osman Kavala, the founder of the cultural foundation Anadolu Kültür AŞ, who has been accused of participating in the attempted coup in 2016. Kavala supports religious and ethnic minorities, advocates for a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue, and for reconciliation between Turkish and Armenian citizens. He is also accused of “espionage.” Turkish human rights defenders claim that this accusation could lead to a life sentence for him.