Ankara-Sana
The President of the Turkish regime, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, threatened to expel the ambassadors of ten countries, including France, Germany and the United States, in response to a call by these countries to release the opposition businessman (Osman Kavala).
Turkish media quoted Erdogan as telling reporters that the country should not host the ambassadors who issued a joint statement calling for the release of imprisoned Turkish businessman Osman Kavala.
Erdogan added, "I told our foreign minister that we cannot afford to host them in our country," and asked, "Is it your place to give such a lesson to Turkey? Who are you and what are you asking for?"
Erdogan added, "Is the judiciary independent in your country, but it is not independent in our country?"
In a statement issued last Monday, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States called on Turkey to respect the decision of the European Court of Human Rights and to ensure the speedy release of Kavala, who has been imprisoned for four years.
The ambassadors considered that the continued delay in his trial calls into question the respect for democracy, the rule of law and the transparency of the Turkish judicial system.
Last Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, summoned the ambassadors of the ten countries, saying that it was "unacceptable" to ask Turkey to release the imprisoned dissident.
The authorities of the Turkish regime accuse the 64-year-old Kavala of seeking to destabilize Turkey.
In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ordered his immediate release, but Ankara did not respond to her request.
The Council of Europe recently threatened Ankara with sanctions that could be approved during its next session, which will be held between the 30th of November and the second of next December, if the opponent is not released until then.
Erdogan is constantly under criticism on the issue of human rights and freedoms, especially since the attempted coup of July 2016 and the subsequent wave of arrests and imprisonment.
