LAST UPDATE 19:55
Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced today to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.
The 64-year-old Kavala, who has always declared his innocence, has been held for four and a half years in the Silivri (Silivria) high security prison, near Istanbul. The European Court of Human Rights last year requested his release, but a Turkish court ordered his detention.
The judges announced the decision, which was accepted with disapproval in the courtroom, after sitting for less than an hour.
Seven of his co-accused were sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of providing him with support.
Kavala, a well-known activist and fan of the arts, has been accused of trying to overthrow the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan by funding the Gezi Movement’s anti-government demonstrations in 2013 and backing the failed 2016 coup. the accusation of espionage due to lack of evidence.
Earlier in the day, three of his lawyers spoke of a lack of evidence and argued that the case was politically motivated. Among other things, they noted that the judges never asked him “where he was”, not even if he went to Gezi during the events for which he was accused. The last of the lawyers who spoke, Ilkan Koyuncu, recalled that Kavala “was accused of playing a role in the 2016 coup attempt but no one asked him where he was on the night of the coup”.
Caroline Stockford, a spokeswoman for the Pen Club, an organization that defends freedom of expression, urged judges to “set aside their phones” to listen to defense attorneys, implying that they were receiving orders through their cell phones.
Kavala himself spoke of a “judicial murder” against him. “Conspiracy theories put forward for political and ideological reasons have prevented an unbiased analysis of the facts and have nothing to do with reality,” he told the court before the judges withdrew.
Kavala was not in court but watched the hearing and the verdict from prison, via video call.
Gezi’s demonstrations began as small demonstrations in a park in Istanbul and gradually took on nationwide proportions. Eight people were killed in the riots.
Kavala was acquitted in February 2020 on charges related to the 2013 protests, but was arrested a few hours later, before he could even return home, and sent back to prison on charges of espionage and attempted overthrow. of the government in 2016. Subsequently, Turkish justice annulled his acquittal on the charge relating to the 2013 demonstrations.
Kavala’s case sparked a diplomatic crisis last autumn, with Ankara threatening to expel ten ambassadors from Western countries, including the United States, for demanding the businessman’s release.
“Attempt to silence independent voices”
Amnesty International describes the sentencing of philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison by a Turkish court as a “catastrophic blow to justice and human rights”.
Amnesty International’s Director for Europe Nils Muiznieks said in a statement that the ruling defied logic and that authorities had repeatedly failed to provide evidence to substantiate the allegations.
“This unjust verdict shows that the Gezi trial was merely an attempt to silence independent voices,” he added.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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