Turkey summons Swedish envoy over ‘heinous’ protest action

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has summoned the Swedish ambassador to convey Ankara’s displeasure after a mannequin depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reportedly hung outside the city hall in Stockholm, state broadcaster TRT reported.

Turkish officials on Thursday described the incident as “terrorist propaganda” by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK and other Kurdish militant groups.

TRT said the ambassador was informed that Turkey strongly condemns the “heinous act.” Turkish officials also said the act was contrary to an agreement that Turkey has reached with Sweden and Finland under which the two promised to crack down on Kurdish militants as they seek Turkish approval for their NATO membership bids.

In November, the ambassador was similarly summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry after images that allegedly insulted Erdogan were projected on the Turkish Embassy building in Stockholm.

Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for membership in the military alliance after Russian forces invaded Ukraine last February.

NATO-member Turkey has not yet endorsed their accession, which requires unanimous approval from all existing alliance members.