Turkey protests Austria over 'child sex' report at airport
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE- In this Friday, May 20, 2016 file photo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, speaks with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Turkey has summoned on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, officials from Austria and Sweden to protest against news reports and Twitter comments in the two countries relating to a Turkish Constitutional Court ruling on child abuse. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) (The Associated Press)
An official says Turkey has summoned Austria's charge d'affaires to protest a news ticker at Vienna's airport that claimed Turkey allows sex with children under age 15.
A Foreign Ministry official said Monday the diplomat was called to the ministry on Saturday to complain about the "distorted" report. A ministry statement accused Austrian officials of encouraging news reports that "besmear" Turkey.
Turkey's Constitutional Court last month scrapped a penal code clause that defined all sexual acts against children as abuse, triggering concern among child rights advocates. Parliament has six month to enact a new law.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The incident came at a time of heightened tensions between Turkey and Austria. Austrian officials have urged an end to Turkey's EU membership talks, while Turkey has called Austria the "capital of radical racism."