The golden effigy of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been removed by the fire brigade in the western German city of Wiesbaden.
The 4-meter statue of Erdogan had been erected in Wiesbaden on Monday without the knowledge of city officials, and was not generally welcomed.
The larger-than-life effigy installed in the city's Platz der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Square) depicts Erdogan with a raised right arm.
The statue was quickly covered in expletive-laden graffiti, Deutsche Welle reported.
Local authorities said that as its security could no longer be guaranteed, the statue would be taken down. It was removed by the fire brigade late on Tuesday night and police put out a short video of the process:
It was an art installation, part of the Wiesbaden Biennale for Contemporary Art, but was erected without the knowledge of city officials, a Wiesbaden spokesperson told German news agency dpa. This year's art festival is taking place under the motto "bad news."
"We have received calls from a string of confused citizens — it is not clear to people that it is part of the Biennale," the spokesperson said of the statue.
