Foreign Minister Urska Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Germany of interfering in the country’s internal affairs because of its harsh reaction to the life sentence of businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, DPA reported.
Kavala was found guilty by a court in Istanbul last month, along with seven other defendants, in connection with anti-government protests in Turkey in 2013. 64-year-old Kavala has to spend the rest of his life behind bars, trying to overthrow the government.
The German government is protesting against Kavala’s verdict and on Friday summoned the Turkish ambassador for talks at the Foreign Ministry. Turkey also summoned the German ambassador to the talks.
“You cannot interfere in our internal affairs,” Cavusoglu said last night in Antalya.
Kavala’s case sparked a diplomatic row in 2021, when ten foreign ambassadors to Turkey called for his release. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called these actions unacceptable interference and threatened to expel the diplomats, but later decided not to do so.