Erdogan said on Saturday that he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to declare the diplomats “persona non grata” “as soon as possible”. In international diplomacy, classification as “persona non grata” is usually followed by expulsion.
In a joint appeal earlier this week, the ambassadors called for the release of the cultural promoter Kavala, who had been in prison for four years without conviction. As a result, Turkey summoned the ambassadors and threatened to expel them. These are the foreign representatives of the USA, Germany, France, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland and New Zealand. Ankara described the countries’ call to release the cultural sponsor Kavala as “unacceptable”. Austria had not officially signed the paper, but showed solidarity with it afterwards.
The human rights activist was originally arrested on charges of funding and organizing the anti-government Gezi protests in Istanbul in 2013. In February last year, a court acquitted him of the charge.
Kavala was released from prison after two and a half years in prison, but arrested again a few hours later – this time in connection with the attempted coup against Erdogan in 2016 and allegations of espionage.
In January of this year, an appeals court overturned the first acquittal. If convicted of espionage charges, Kavala faces life imprisonment. Kavala’s next trial is scheduled for November 26th.
