Turkey calls in 10 envoys over plea for businessman

ISTANBUL－Turkey's foreign ministry summoned the ambassadors of 10 countries, including the United States, Germany and France, over a statement calling for the urgent release of businessman Osman Kavala, reported state-owned Anadolu news agency on Tuesday.

A joint statement by some of the embassies on Monday called for a just and speedy resolution to Kavala's case four years after he was jailed, saying the case "cast a shadow over respect for democracy".

Kavala, the 64-year-old Parisian-born businessman and activist, has been in jail since 2017, and his case has fanned tensions with the West.

The Turkish businessman faces a string of charges linked to 2013 anti-government protests and a defeated coup in 2016. Kavala has denied the accusations.

The embassies of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the US said on Monday: "The continuing delays in his trial … cast a shadow over respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judiciary system."

Turkey's parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop and Omer Celik, the spokesman for Turkey's Justice and Development Party, criticized the statement. Sentop said this is stepping out of bounds.

"Statements by diplomats, who work in our country, to influence the Turkish judiciary are unacceptable," Celik said, underlining that Turkey is a sovereign state of law and the Turkish judiciary is independent, Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.

The ambassadors were due to arrive at the foreign ministry in Ankara on Tuesday morning, a Turkish source told Agence France-Presse.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu hit out at the embassies' statement on Twitter late on Monday.

"It is not acceptable for ambassadors to make a recommendation or suggestion to the judiciary for an ongoing case," Soylu said.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul wrote on Twitter late on Monday that "no ambassador had the right to make a recommendation or suggestion to our courts".

"It is this ignorance of limits and boundaries that throws a shadow over the rule of law," Gul added.

Kavala's next court hearing is expected on Nov 26.

Agencies Via Xinhua