President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slammed the ambassadors of 10 countries, including the US, Germany and France, who had called for the release of Osman Kavala, who has been remanded in custody for four years on “terrorism” charges.
“Why do these 10 ambassadors make this statement? Those who defend this leftover of [George] Soros are striving to get him released,” he told reporters today (October 21), following his trip to Africa.
“I told our foreign minister that we can’t have the luxury to host those in our country,” he remarked. “Is it your place to teach lessons to Turkey? Who are you?”
On October 18, the fourth anniversary of Kavala’s imprisonment, the 10 embassies released a joint statement, calling on Turkey to comply with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision for his release.
A day later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassadors.
“The ECtHR gave a decision. They want to convict Turkey regarding this Soros leftover,” Erdoğan remarked. “Do you release bandits, killers or terrorists in your country?”
Also touching on the situation of Selahattin Demirtaş, a Kurdish politician who has also been kept in prison despite ECtHR rulings, the president said, “And now, the HDP [Peoples’ Democratic Party] is striving to get Selahattin Demirtaş released. The guy is a terrorist.”
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