Turkey summons ten ambassadors, including a Dutchman

Turkey summons ten ambassadors, including a Dutchman

In addition to the Netherlands, the embassies of the United States, Germany and France spoke out in favor of the release of Kavala, who has been detained since 2017. Initially, the Turkish businessman was arrested for allegedly participating in the 2013 protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park. Those protests turned into a demonstration against President Erdogan. Last year, after a short-lived release, there was a suspicion of involvement in the failed coup in 2016.

“The continued delays in his trial, including due to the merging of different files and the creation of new cases, casts a shadow over the principles of respect for democracy, rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judicial system,” the embassies wrote. in their statement. The 10 countries refer to an earlier ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which ordered President Erdogan’s government to release Kavala early in 2019.

‘unacceptable’

The Turkish Interior Minister responded to the joint statement in a tweet. He says the ten embassies’ proposal overshadows their understanding of law and democracy. “It is not acceptable for ambassadors to make recommendations and suggestions to the judiciary in a pending case.”

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