THE Turkish government’s repression of civil society is increasingly affecting countries far from Turkey itself. On August 19th the Spanish police arrested Dogan Akhanli, a Turkish-German writer, on an Interpol “red notice”, an international arrest warrant, issued by Turkey. Mr Akhanli was conditionally released following a court hearing the next day. Turkish authorities have 40 days from the date of his arrest to request his extradition. He must remain in Spain until the Spanish judicial system makes a final decision.

Turkey has already arrested more than 50,000 people in purges following an attempted coup in July 2016. The arrest of Mr Akhanli is part of a growing effort to track down opponents living abroad, too. Earlier this month Hamza Yalcin, a Turkish-Swedish reporter and writer, was also arrested in Spain on an international arrest warrant. (Based on his reporting for left-wing newspapers, Turkey has charged him with “propaganda for a terrorist organisation”.) He remains in jail, waiting to hear whether he will be extradited.

Mr Akhanli thanked the German press and government, saying their prompt reaction had persuaded the Spanish to allow his conditional release. Now a German citizen, Mr Akhanli fled Turkey in 1991 where he had been jailed in the 1980s as a political opponent of the military regime. He briefly returned to his home country in 2010 and was arrested for alleged involvement in an armed robbery. He was exonerated at trial, but an appeals court ordered new proceedings against him in 2013. The exact charges brought against him this weekend are not clear, but Interpol’s red notice was based on this old case.

The real reason the Turkish authorities are pursuing him seems to be political. Mr Akhanli is critical of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and has written about the Ottoman genocide of Armenians in 1915. Having lived in Europe for over 25 years, he believed that he was out of reach of the Turkish authorities. But Mr Erdogan is trying to use the mechanisms of international law to extend his crackdown on dissidents abroad. The arrests in Spain suggest he is having some success. Ilias Uyar, Mr Akhanli’s lawyer, condemned this use of Interpol as the “extended arm of the Turkish regime”. Bernd Fabritius, the rapporteur on Interpol abuses for the Council of Europe, urged Interpol to re-examine the red notice against Mr Akhanli “in light of the rules outlawing politically motivated interventions”.

Mr Akhanli’s arrest has further damaged the already strained relationship between Turkey and Germany. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, denounced the abuse of international organisations like Interpol. Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s foreign minister, warned against the possibility that “Turkey could have people who raise their voice against President Erdogan put in prison at the other end of Europe.”

Last week, Mr Erdogan urged German citizens of Turkish origin not to vote for German mainstream parties in the parliamentary election in September, calling them enemies of Turkey. This statement sparked a war of words. Mr Gabriel cautioned the Turkish leader not to interfere in German politics. At a rally on August 20th, Mr Erdogan referred contemptuously to the German foreign minister. “Who are you to talk to the President of Turkey?” he said. “Know your limits.” Turkey’s risky bid to extend its internal political conflicts into Europe suggests Mr Erdogan would do well to take his own advice.