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Turkey’s Erdogan Orders 10 Western Ambassadors Expelled over Support for Jailed Dissident

HeadlineOct 25, 2021

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the expulsion of 10 foreign ambassadors in a sign of escalating tensions with Western powers.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “You cannot dare to come to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and give orders here. I gave the necessary order to our foreign minister and said what must be done. These 10 ambassadors must be declared personae non gratae at once.”

Seven of the ambassadors are from NATO allies. The move came after diplomats from the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and New Zealand issued a joint statement urging the release of jailed businessman and civil society leader Osman Kavala, who has been in pretrial detention since 2017 on charges related to the 2013 Gezi Park protests and a 2016 coup attempt.

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