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TURKEY

Turkish embassy in Copenhagen hit by Molotov cocktail attack

The Turkish embassy in Hellerup in greater Copenhagen was attacked with Molotov cocktail petrol bombs in the early hours of Monday.

Published: 19 March 2018 09:14 CET
Turkish embassy in Copenhagen hit by Molotov cocktail attack
Photo: Mathias Øgendal/Ritzau Scanpix

At least two people were seen fleeing from the scene following the attack, Ritzau reports.

“We have received a report that Molotov cocktails were thrown at the embassy. Minor damage to the building was caused,” Copenhagen Police duty officer Henrik Moll told the news agency.

A large police presence was at the embassy on Monday morning in an attempt to find clues as to the identity of the perpetrators, Moll added.

“We had a patrol at the scene, and the officers [in the patrol] more or less saw it happen,” he said.

“They saw at least two people flee from the scene,” he added. Police have no descriptions of the suspects at the time of writing.

The incident was reported to police at 2:54am on Monday.

A patrol in the area did not attempt to chase the suspects after diverting its attention to putting out the fire at the embassy building.

Moll confirmed that the embassy is empty at night. There were no witnesses to the attack other than the police patrol.

The direction in which the suspects fled is also unknown but is suspected to be towards the nearby Svanemøllen station on the S-train commuter network.

Train services between Østerup and Hellerup stations were temporarily suspended due to police investigations, Ritzau reports.

READ ALSO: Erdogan opponents 'monitored' by embassy in Denmark: report

ISLAM

Erdogan calls French separatism bill ‘guillotine’ of democracy

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday denounced a planned French law designed to counter "Islamist separatism" as a "guillotine" of democracy.

Published: 13 May 2021 15:01 CEST
Erdogan calls French separatism bill 'guillotine' of democracy
Erdogan has already denounced the proposed measures as "anti-Muslim". Photo: Adem ALTAN/AFP

The draft legislation has been criticised both inside France and abroad for stigmatising Muslims and giving the state new powers to limit speech and religious groups.

“The adoption of this law, which is openly in contradiction of human rights, freedom of religion and European values, will be a guillotine blow inflicted on French democracy,” said Erdogan in a speech in Ankara.

The current version of the planned law would only serve the cause of extremism, putting NGOs under pressure and “forcing young people to choose between their beliefs and their education”, he added.

READ ALSO: What’s in France’s new law to crack down on Islamist extremism?

“We call on the French authorities, and first of all President (Emmanuel) Macron, to act sensibly,” he continued. “We expect a rapid withdrawal of this bill.”

Erdogan also said he was ready to work with France on security issues and integration, but relations between the two leaders have been strained for some time.

France’s government is in the process of passing new legislation to crack down on what it has termed “Islamist separatism”, which would give the state more power to vet and disband religious groups judged to be threats to the nation.

Erdogan has already denounced the proposed measures as “anti-Muslim”.

READ ALSO: Has Macron succeeded in creating an ‘Islam for France’?

Last October, Erdogan questioned Macron’s “mental health”, accusing him of waging a “campaign of hatred” against Islam, after the French president defended the right of cartoonists to caricature the prophet Mohammed.

The two countries are also at odds on a number of other issues, including Libya, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean.

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