New Delhi: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the country’s foreign ministry to declare 10 ambassadors from Western countries 'persona non grata'.
These ambassadors had called for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala who has been in prison for four years on charges of financing protests in 2013, and also for his involvement in a failed coup in 2016.
Kavala denies the charges against him.
"I gave the necessary order to our foreign minister and said what must be done: These 10 ambassadors must be declared persona non grata at once," Reuters quoted Erdogan as saying in a speech.
In diplomatic terms, ‘persona non grata’ means a person is no longer welcome in a particular country.
Erdogan reportedly told the foreign ministry to “sort it out immediately”.
The 10 ambassadors are from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and the United States.
In a joint statement on October 18, they sought Kavala's "urgent release", calling for a just and speedy resolution to his case.
Terming the ambassadors’ statement irresponsible, the foreign ministry had summoned the ten.
While most of the embassies, and also the US authorities, have not issued any statement with regard to Tuekey’s decision, the Norwegian foreign ministry told Reuters in an email that their ambassador “has not done anything that warrants an expulsion”, adding that Turkey was well aware of the country’s view on the matter.
According to the Reuters report, Erdogan had earlier said these ambassadors would not release "bandits, murderers and terrorists" in their own countries.
In 2020, Kavala was acquitted of the charges in the 2013 case, but the ruling was overturned this year. The matter was combined with charges in the case related to the coup attempt.
The next hearing in the case is due on November 26, the Reuters report said.