On Thursday, Turkey summoned the Swiss ambassador to Ankara in response to a protest where an effigy resembling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reportedly burned, according to Turkey’s official Anadolu Agency.
The agency reported that the Swiss Ambassador to Turkey, Jean-Daniel Ruch, was called to the foreign ministry in Ankara due to “provocations targeting Erdogan and the Turkish flag”.
The report further revealed that a group brandished banners stating “Kill Erdogan”, and burned a Turkish flag and an effigy of Erdogan in the Swiss capital, Zurich.
Swiss media sources reported that the demonstration was organized on Wednesday, with video clips showing a burning effigy in a shopping cart.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has demanded an urgent investigation into the incident to identify the perpetrators and swiftly undertake necessary action against them.
This is not the first time that Ankara has complained to Switzerland over anti-Erdogan protests on Swiss soil.
In 2017, the Turkish authorities were enraged by protestors in Bern who unfurled a banner depicting a gun pointed at the head of Erdogan and the slogan: “Kill Erdogan with his own weapons”.
However, Bern police refused to take action against the organizers of the demonstration.
Erdogan was narrowly re-elected as president following a closely-fought election last month.
