The German government expects a similar approach from other EU partners
The Turkish ambassador in Berlin was summoned to the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of the verdict against prominent cultural promoter Osman Kavala. A ministry spokesman said the German federal government’s position was “made very clear” to it during the talks on Friday.
The federal government has also asked EU states to do the same. It is assumed that other EU partners will do likewise.
An Istanbul court sentenced Kavala to life in prison last Monday in connection with the 2013 Gezi protests, which were critical of the government. He was found guilty of attempted coup. The German government demands his immediate release.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) strongly condemned a spokesman’s verdict as “a devastating signal to Turkish civil society as a whole and to the state of the rule of law in Turkey”.
(APA)