Erdogan instructed to declare persona non grata ambassadors of 10 countries who demanded the release of the Turkish human rights defender

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered to expel ambassadors of 10 states from the country, who demanded the release of Turkish human rights defender and public figure Osman Kavala from prison. About it informs Daily Sabah.

“I instructed our Foreign Minister to declare these 10 ambassadors persona non grata as soon as possible,” the newspaper quoted Erdogan as saying. The diplomats will have to leave the territory of Turkey no later than a certain date.

October 18 the embassies of the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand called on Turkish authorities comply with the requirement of the European Court of Human Rights and release Osman Kavala. Soon after the publication of the appeal, the ambassadors were summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. They were accused of trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the state.

Osman Kavalu, who actively participated in projects aimed at developing civil society, was arrested in November 2017 on charges of involvement in mass protests around Gezi Park in Istanbul and an attempted coup in 2016. Kavalu’s charges have been repeatedly reviewed, but the human rights defender remains in custody.

In 2019, the ECHR ruled that the Turkish law enforcement authorities had no hard evidence to keep Osman Kavala in custody. The Turkish authorities, in turn, refused to comply with the court’s decision.