ANKARA
Turkey plans to initiate steps to invoke mechanisms at international organizations with regard to the death penalty sentence of Egyptian elected president Mohamed Morsi, Turkey's presidential spokesman said Monday.
"Our consultations with Qatar and with the other Gulf countries, particularly with Saudi Arabia continue.. We are also reviewing now the existing mechanisms at international organizations," said Ibrahim Kalin at a press conference.
He said Turkey will be in contact with a number of international organizations, particularly with the UN Comission on Human Rights.
On Saturday, an Egyptian court referred 122 out of 166 defendants -- including Morsi -- to the grand mufti to consider possible death sentences against them over charges of jailbreaking and espionage.
"It is crucial for these decisions to be explicitly rejected by the international organization and institutions," said Kalin.
Kalin also said it is "unacceptable" for the countries --that always defend democracy--to keep silient in the face of the "law massacre" and "democratic tragedy" in Egypt.
The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously had also called on the Western world to take a stance against the Cairo court’s decision and criticized their silence over the issue.
The European Union has called Monday on the Egyptian judiciary to provide Morsi and more than 100 of his supporters with "the right to a fair trial."
The U.S. and the United Nations both expressed concern about the decision on Sunday.
Cairo said Sunday it rejected all "inappropriate comments" on the country's court rulings, labeling them an unacceptable interference in Egypt's internal affairs.
"It is not a matter of discussion that we [Turkey] are in a position to harm Egyptian people. Our problem is not with the Egyptian people, rather with the coup administration there. Turkey's doors are open to all Egyptian people," said the spokesman Kalin.
Situation in Yemen
When Kalin was asked about a possible mediation in Yemen issue, Kalin said: "If a demand comes to us, of course we will take action in this regard. But, I want to say that we are closely following the process and continuing our contacts with Gulf countries."
Saudi-led coalition warplanes resumed bombings of Houthi positions in the southern Yemeni city of Aden following the expiry of a five-day humanitarian cease-fire on Sunday night.
"The Gulf countries should act with good sense to bring all the parties to table," said Kalin.
He added Turkey previously called for a "broad-based" and "multilateral" negotiation process to solve the Yemen crisis.
Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran the capital Sana'a, from which they sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.
On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive military campaign targeting Houthi positions across Yemen.
Turkish air force shot down Syrian helicopter
Regarding a Syrian helicopter that was shot down by the Turkish air force after it violated Turkey's airspace on Saturday, Kalin said: "What is important is that the response against this violation was direct and timely."
He added: "The Turkish armed forces fulfilled their duty within the framework of given authorization and a threat was eliminated."
The Turkish General Staff said Saturday in a statement that two Turkish fighter jets were scrambled after the Syrian aircraft entered Turkish airspace over the southern Hatay province. The statement said that the aircraft fell inside Syrian soil once it was hit.
In June 2012, Syrian forces shot down a Turkish fighter jet after it violated Syrian airspace, although Syrian forces issued it no warning and the aircraft had already left Syrian airspace when it was targeted with missiles.
The incident prompted Ankara to announce that it was changing rules of engagement and would consider any approaching Syrian aircraft as a security threat and shoot them down.
