Turkey summons German ambassador amid row over Kavala verdict-Xinhua

Turkey summons German ambassador amid row over Kavala verdict

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-04-30 15:45:30

ANKARA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the German ambassador to Turkey in a row with Berlin over the sentencing of Turkish businessman and activist Osman Kavala to life in prison, state-run TRT broadcaster reported.

The move came after Germany summoned Turkey's ambassador in Berlin on Friday to protest the verdict for the Turkish activist.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry told the German diplomat the ruling of the "independent Turkish judiciary cannot be questioned by any institution, authority or country," and the ministry also rejected any attempt to intervene in the Turkish judiciary and politics, anonymous Turkish diplomatic sources told the TRT.

German Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Christofer Burger confirmed that Turkish ambassador in Berlin was summoned for talks Friday morning.

A Turkish court sentenced Kavala to a life sentence without parole on Monday after he was convicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the government in protests in 2013. Seven other defendants were sentenced to 18 years in prison for "aiding" the attempt.