Former Turkish ambassador in north sent to Prague
Former Turkish ambassador to the north Metin Feyzioglu was officially appointed as ambassador to the Czech Republic on Friday.
Feyzioglu was swiftly relieved of his duties at the end of July amid twin controversies engulfing him and the embassy in both Cyprus and Turkey, and sources close to Turkey’s ruling AK Party have described his appointment in Prague as a downgrade.
“When you are in Cyprus and you pick up the phone to Ankara at any time of the day, they will answer and they will listen. In Prague, no one wants to know. He has been moved further away from power and into a role which is of lesser importance and lesser influence,” a source told the Cyprus Mail.
The controversies surrounding Feyzioglu involved reports that two candidates for the north’s largest party the UBP’s leadership had been summoned to the embassy’s residence in Ayios Epiktitos and told to withdraw their candidacies.
At the same time, Feyzioglu has been accused of not having followed correct protocol in relation to the visit of Turkish opposition party CHP leader Ozgur Ozel to the island for the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of the island on July 20.
Opposition Turkish politicians who travel overseas are typically greeted by their country’s ambassador during their visit, but Feyzioglu did not meet Ozel.
Ozel had said he would inform the Turkish foreign ministry of his and his party’s “discomfort” over not having been met by Feyzioglu.
“If a mistake was made in Cyprus, it is the fault of the Turkish ambassador in Cyprus. This is of course the result of not being professional and not being able to digest the position he has reached,” Ozel said.
Feyzioglu’s swift removal from Cyprus and appointment in the Czech Republic is the latest step in an unconventional career.
The grandson of former Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Turhan Feyzioglu, he swiftly rose through Turkey’s legal scene, eventually becoming the Turkish Bars Association chairman in 2013.
He had been a fierce critic of Turkey’s ruling AK Party, accusing the country’s government of attempting to eradicate judicial independence and limit citizens’ rights and freedoms.
He became a household name in Turkey after engaging in a heated argument at the Turkish Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, with then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2014.
He was forced to resign as Turkish Bars Association chairman in 2021 after failing to side with other high-profile lawyers against government proposals to change the country’s law regarding bar associations.
The following year, he was announced as the country’s ambassador to the north.