Turkey’s move to expel ambassadors over activist’s jailing risks widening rift with west

Envoys from 10 countries - including US, Germany and France - to be declared persona non grata

A decision by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, to declare 10 ambassadors - including those from seven Nato allies - as persona non grata threatens to open the biggest rift with the west during his two decades in power.

Representatives from the US, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and New Zealand issued a joint statement earlier this week demanding the urgent release of Osman Kavala, a prominent businessman and philanthropist who has been held in pre-trial detention for more than four years on charges related to the 2013 Gezi park protests and the 2016 coup attempt.