Turkey to declare US and 9 other envoys “persona non grata”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered his foreign ministry to expel 10 ambassadors, including those of the US, Germany and France.

A persona non grata allows host governments to withdraw diplomatic status from foreign envoys. It usually ends with expulsion from the host country.

As envoys have diplomatic immunity, host governments cannot apply charges on them or arrest them for whatever reasons they have. Once the immunity wears off, the envoy is no longer recognized as a foreign government official but an ordinary foreigner. All host country laws would then apply to the envoy.

In a speech on Saturday, Erdogan said “I gave the necessary order to our foreign minister and said what must be done: These 10 ambassadors must be declared persona non grata at once.”

“They will know and understand Turkey. The day they do not know and understand Turkey, they will leave,” he said to the crowd in the city of Eskisehir.

The treatment is exclusive for the countries who appealed for the release of Turkish activist Osman Kavala.

Kavala, a businessman and activist, has been in prison for over four years. He was “charged” with financing nationwide protests in 2013 and participating in a failed coup in 2016, which he denies.

The ambassadors of the United States, Germany, France, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway called for a speedy resolution of Kavala’s case last Monday in a joint statement.

The statement also called for his “urgent release,” as he has been imprisoned but has not been convicted.

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the envoys and deemed the joint statement “irresponsible.” So far, no official notification has been received from the Turkish authorities by the respective embassies.

Kavala was acquitted of the charges concerning Turkey’s nationwide protests in 2013. He was however, arrested again with the acquittal being reversed, and new coup attempt related charges were soon added.

He has been a critic of Erdogan’s government and denies doing anything wrong. Other critics and experts on the matter say it highlights how authoritarian Erdogan has become.

The ambassadors have yet to publicly respond to the situation. They are expected to be busy with behind the scenes consultations.

Since no official notification has been released, many are assuming it to be Erdogan’s rhetoric as 7 of the ambassadors he wants booted are NATO allies of Turkey.

With the rise in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, along with Russia’s direct involvement in the matter and the region. Experts are anticipating Turkey to stick with NATO allies.