The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he had given a directive that 10 foreign ambassadors who requested for the release of a jailed philanthropist to be declared persona non grata, including Jamal Khokhar of Canada.
The envoys and the U.S., French and German representatives in Ankara, released a statement recently requesting for a resolution in respect of Osman Kavala, a businessman and philanthropist put in prison in 2017 despite not having been convicted of any crime.
The joint statement from Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States read: “The continuing delays in [Kavala’s] trial, including by merging different cases and creating new ones after a previous acquittal, cast a shadow over the respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judiciary system.
“We call for Turkey to secure his urgent release.”
While describing the statement as an “impudence” during a rally in Eskisehir, Erdogan said he had commanded that the ambassadors be declared undesirable.
“I gave the instruction to our foreign minister and said ‘You will immediately handle the persona non grata declaration of these 10 ambassadors.
“They will recognize, understand and know Turkey. The day they don’t know or understand Turkey, they will leave.”
Last year, Kavala was acquitted of charges connected to nationwide anti-government protests in 2013 only for the ruling to be overturned and added to charges relating to a coup attempt in 2016.
Human rights groups and International observers have repeatedly clamored for the release of Kavala and Selahattin Demirtas, a Kurdish politician who has been jailed since 2016. They reveal their imprisonment is based on political considerations.
Turkey debunked the claims and insisted on the independence of Turkish courts.
The European Court of Human Rights requested for the release of Kavala in 2019, revealing his incarceration moved to silence him and was not backed by evidence of an offense.
The Council of Europe said it would commence infringement proceedings against Turkey at the end of November if Kavala is still in prison.
