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Switzerland: ‘Kill Erdogan’ sign not against the law

May 10, 2017 at 2:06 pm

‘Kill Erdogan’ sign raised by protesters in Bern, Switzerland on March, 2017 [Ecenur Colak/Anadolu Agency]

Switzerland said a sign raised by protesters in the capital, Bern, in late March calling to “Kill Erdogan” did not violate laws against inciting violence.

People demonstrating in Bern on Saturday 25 March against plans to extend Erdogan’s powers held up a sign reading “Kill Erdogan with his own weapons” and pictured a pistol aimed at his head.

Bern police spokesman, Dominik Jaeggi, said at the time that prosecutors would determine whether Swiss law was violated by the sign, which police did not confiscate at the event.

“Police did not actively intervene in the demonstration. We confirmed the existence of the protest banner,” Jaeggi said.

The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement the protest was organised by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, but not by Switzerland.

The ministry summoned Swiss deputy ambassador in the absence of Ambassador Walter Haffner, who was not in the city at the time, to protest against the banner.