German envoy visits Turkish deputy speaker, expresses sorrow over mistreatment by German police

Nuray Babacan - ANKARA

Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Martin Erdmann, expressed his sorrow to Ayşenur Bahçekapılı, the deputy parliament speaker of the Turkish parliament, for the mistreatment she received by German police at Cologne airport, which fueled a diplomatic tension between the two countries.
 
Erdmann paid a courtesy visit to Bahçekapılı on Dec. 15 in parliament.
 
He expressed his regret over the incident and said the problem was caused by a misunderstanding in documents, and added that it was “out of question” for them to take action or stand against a Turkish parliamentarian.

The meeting in Bahçekapılı’s office was reportedly conducted in an amicable atmosphere, while the ambassador also invited her to Germany.

Bahçekapılı was taken into custody at the airport’s police station after the police prohibited her from traveling through with a temporary passport she received from the Turkish consulate in Germany after her bag and diplomatic passport were stolen in Cologne. 

Describing the incident as a scandal, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed Germany for its actions and said he would retaliate.

On the same day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Erdmann to convey Ankara’s reaction while German diplomats were investigated and searched extensively at passport control in Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport.

German authorities that issued statements on the matter stated that there were no indications on her passport that Bahçekapılı was a parliamentarian.