UPDATE - 10 embassies in Turkey say they abide by Vienna Convention amid Kavala row

UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS BY GERMANY, FRANCE; ADDS BACKGORUND; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA (AA) – The 10 embassies in Turkey announced Monday that they abide by the Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which calls on the envoys not to interfere in the internal affairs of the states they serve in.

The announcement by the US, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, and France came after all the 10 countries last week called for the release of Osman Kavala, a Turkish businessman who has been imprisoned over his alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests and subsequent riots, and the 2016 coup bid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the statements by Western embassies that they would abide by the diplomatic convention not to interfere in the host country's domestic affairs, according to presidential sources.

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry had summoned the ambassadors of these countries, accusing them of meddling in the Turkish judiciary.

Erdogan had said he ordered the foreign minister to declare 10 ambassadors “persona non grata” over their statement on the ongoing case of Kavala.

Kavala faced charges over the 2013 Gezi Park protests, a small number of demonstrations in Istanbul that later transformed into nationwide protests which left eight protesters and a police officer dead. He was acquitted of all charges in February 2020, however, an appeal court overturned this verdict in January.

Kavala was also accused of involvement in the 2016 defeated coup orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Turkey. He was remanded into custody on charges of spying in March.