No sooner said than done. After the threats, Recep Tayyip Erdogan expelled ten Western ambassadors to Turkey who had signed an appeal for the release of Osman Kavala, his philanthropist who has been detained for over four years.
Among the diplomats involved there are also the ambassadors of the United States, France and Germany.
"I have ordered our foreign minister to declare these 10 ambassadors as persona non grata as soon as possible," said the Ankara leader. "They go to bed, wake up and think about Kavala. Kavala is the Turkish representative of Soros. Ten ambassadors go to the foreign ministry for him: what impudence! They will learn to know and understand Turkey or they will have to leave".
Osman Kavala is accused of having played a role in the attempted coup of 2016: "We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of hosting these ambassadors in our country," said the Sultan.
In addition to those of the USA, Germany and France, the diplomats of Finland, Denmark, Holland, New Zealand, Canada, Norway and Sweden were also expelled, who with a statement on the fourth anniversary of Kavala's arrest had asked for his release in line with a 2019 European Court of Human Rights ruling.
(Unioneonline / L)
