Some 50,000 Participate in Germany's Cologne Rally in Support of Erdogan

Some 50,000 activists took part in a rally in support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and in protest against a recent Turkish coup attempt in the German city of Cologne on Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The protesters have been waving Turkish national flags, while holding aloft Erdogan’s portraits, the Daily Mail newspaper reported. The rally participants also held placards reading "For Democracy, Against Putsch" while marching across Cologne.

Earlier on Sunday, local media reported that the German Federal Constitutional Court banned broadcasting of Erdogan's speech at the rally to be held in Cologne, saying that broadcasting of the presidential speech from abroad runs contrary to the German legislation.

On July 15, an attempted coup took place in Turkey, and was suppressed by the following day. Over 240 people were killed during the coup attempt and an estimated 2,000 were wounded. The Turkish authorities have arrested over 13,000 people following the coup attempt, 10,000 of whom were members of the Turkish military.

On Friday, Erdogan said it was shameful that Western countries showed little support for the Turkish government with none of the European leaders paying a visit to Ankara following the coup attempt, instead raising concerns over the fates of the plotters.