From: 04/25/2022 21:01
An Istanbul court sentenced cultural promoter Kavala to life in prison on charges of trying to overthrow the government. Kavala was previously held without sentence for more than four years, despite international protests.
Turkish cultural promoter Osman Kavala has been sentenced to life in prison by an Istanbul court. The three judges handed down the verdict against the 64-year-old on charges of trying to overthrow the government and without the possibility of parole.
Seven co-defendants, who appeared in court at the same time as the publisher and billionaire, were sentenced to 18 years in prison. They were accused of supporting Kavala.
Kavala has been held in Sivrili maximum security prison near Istanbul without conviction for more than four years. The businessman was originally arrested in 2017 on charges of financing and organizing the Gezi protests in Istanbul in 2013 against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Prison 2020 just hours after acquittal
In February 2020, a court acquitted him of that charge, Kavala was released from prison but arrested again a few hours later – this time in connection with the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan and for allegations of espionage.
According to the indictment, the allegations in the lawsuit were attempted coup in connection with the 2013 Gezi protests and “political and military espionage” in connection with the 2016 coup attempt. Kavala was acquitted of the espionage charge. Kavala himself has always denied all accusations.
Turkish court sentences cultural promoter Kavala to life in prison
Bernd Niebrügge, ARD Istanbul, daily topics 22:15, 26 April 2022
Diplomatic conflicts between Turkey and the EU
The case brought strong international criticism to Turkey. Therefore, the country is threatened with expulsion from the Council of Europe. The European Court of Human Rights had already ordered the release of the human rights activist in 2019 and called the detention politically motivated.
In late 2021, a diplomatic scandal erupted after ten ambassadors to Turkey – including the German – wrote a letter demanding Kavala’s release. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saw this as impermissible interference and threatened the diplomats with expulsion.
Horrified PEN Center
The German authors association PEN-Zentrum reacted with horror to the verdict. “This trial is and was a political trial free from the rule of law, with charges that are incredibly ridiculous, even by Turkish standards,” said PEN President Deniz Yücel.
Oliver Mayer-Rüth, ARD Istanbul, on possible consequences for Turkey following the Gezi verdict
daily topics 10:15 pm, April 26, 2022
The federal government harshly criticizes the verdict
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the verdict “is in blatant contradiction to the rule of law standards and international obligations to which Turkey is committed as a member of the Council of Europe and a candidate for EU membership.” . Berlin expects Kavala’s immediate release.
Culture Minister Claudia Roth called the Istanbul court’s decision “absurd, unjustified in all respects and obviously politically motivated”. It is “a mixture of personal revenge against Osman Kavala and a declaration of war on any form of a possible culture of democracy in Turkey.”
According to Amnesty International, the verdict shows “that the principles of the rule of law do not count in Turkey”. Human rights activists described the verdict as “sheer arbitrariness”. Kavala was first charged with being allegedly responsible for the Gezi protests in the summer of 2013. “After he was acquitted of these charges in early 2020, prosecutors filed new charges of alleged involvement in the 2016 coup attempt and espionage.”
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Uwe Lueb, ARD Istanbul, 25 April 2022 at 18:27