Secretary of State Antony Blinken should declare Turkish Ambassador Murat Mercan persona non grata.

That action is necessary following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s directive to declare U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield persona non grata. Erdogan took that action Saturday after a joint human rights statement by various Western nations. That statement on Monday called for the release of Osman Kavala. A civil society activist, Kavala has been imprisoned since 2017. But while Erdogan’s government accuses Kavala of being a criminal extremist, his actual sin is activism against authoritarianism. Kavala was first tried as an instigator of criminal conduct during the summer 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul. Although he was tried twice, Kavala was acquitted both times. This has upset Erdogan, who has used his politicization of the courts to keep Kavala imprisoned.