The demonstration comes amid tensions following the coup attempt in Turkey and concern in Germany over the scale of the Turkish government's subsequent crackdown. Thousands of people gathered in the German city of Cologne on Sunday to denounce the failed July 15 coup in Turkey and show support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with a heavy police presence in place. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said ahead of the demonstrations that there is "no place in Germany" for any side to "bring domestic political tensions from Turkey to us in Germany and intimidate people with other political convictions." Germany is home to roughly 3 million people with Turkish roots and as Sunday's rally got underway, organizers played the Turkish and German national anthems and held a minute of silence for people killed in the attempted coup. Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said that prevented the showing of a message from the president and called for a "satisifactory explanation" from German officials.

Source: Fox News July 31, 2016 09:40 UTC