Turkey Allows Iranian to Go to Avoid Incident
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ANKARA, Turkey — An Iranian diplomat charged with anti-state activities has been allowed to leave Turkey to avoid a diplomatic incident, a Foreign Ministry source said Tuesday.
Habibullah Shahsahhani Rashti, deputy consul in the eastern town of Erzurum, was due to go on trial in Ankara on Aug. 18 and faced up to one year in jail if found guilty.
A prosecutor said he had sent copies of Iran’s Kayhan newspaper containing insults against the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to Ankara’s Middle East Technical University. Hurriyet News Agency said Rashti left Turkey on July 4.
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