The UK Consulate General in Istanbul stopped receiving visitors on Wednesday, citing the threat of terrorist attacks in the city center after recent cases of Quran desecration in European countries
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2023) The UK Consulate General in Istanbul stopped receiving visitors on Wednesday, citing the threat of terrorist attacks in the city center after recent cases of Quran desecration in European countries.
On Monday, the Consulate General of the Netherlands also switched to working online due to possible terrorist attacks.
"The British Consulate General in Istanbul is currently not open to the public as a precaution. The Turkish authorities are investigating," its statement read.
The UK department also warned of the risk "that citizens from Western countries may be targets or caught up in attacks."
A similar warning was also issued by the Canadian Consulate General in Istanbul, which urged its citizens to exercise a high degree of caution due to "the threat of terrorist attacks and the possibility of demonstrations throughout the country." At the same time, the Canadian consulate refrained from closing its doors or making any changes to its work.
The German Consulate, in turn, joined London and Amsterdam and said later in the day it would temporarily stop functioning due to "security reasons." The reception of visitors for visa and passport issues has been canceled, it said in a statement.
On January 27, the US Embassy in Turkey issued a security alert, warning about possible terrorist attacks in the center of Istanbul amid the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book by far-right activists in Europe. The French diplomatic service released a similar warning, citing information from Washington. On Monday, the US Embassy issued another security alert, urging US citizens not to visit churches, synagogues, and diplomatic missions in the Turkish capital, and avoid other places popular among foreign tourists.
Earlier in January, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, burned copies of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark in a protest against the Turkish leadership. A similar protest was carried out by far-right Dutch politician and leader of Islamophobic group Pegida Edwin Wagensveld in the Netherlands, when he tore out pages from a copy of the Muslim holy book and burned them in front of the parliamentary building in The Hague.
