German court bans Erdogan’s video address in Cologne democracy rally

Germany's highest court late Saturday upheld a ruling to ban Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from addressing via video call a planned anti-coup rally in Cologne, Daily Sabah reports.

The decision by the Federal Constitutional Court came after Cologne police prevented the rally organizers from inviting the president to give a speech to thousands of supporters expected to gather for Sunday's rally in Deutzer Werft to protest the July 15 coup attempt of Gulenist Terror Organization (FETO) linked soldiers in Turkey, which left more than 260 people dead.

Up to 30,000 people are expected to answer a call to take to the streets issued by the Union of European-Turkish Democrats (UETD), according to police. Representatives of all Turkish political parties, including the opposition, are scheduled to speak,