Turkish civil rights activist Kavala does not release | Currently Europe | '
Despite international criticism, Turkish cultural patron and businessman Osman Kavala must remain in detention. In a much-heard case against 16 Turkish civil society leaders, the court in Silivri High Security Prison near Istanbul has rejected the 62-year-old suffrage request. In contrast, activist and education expert Yigit Aksakoglu is released from custody after around seven months. The court did not follow the motion of the prosecutor who had demanded that both Kavala and Aksakoglu be held in custody. However, Aksakoglu has to report to the police weekly and is not allowed to leave Turkey.
Negotiation adjourned to July
After the release of Aksakoglu, Kavala is the only one of the 16 defendants still in remand, more than a year and a half now. Six co-defendants are now abroad, including the journalist Can Dündar, who lives since 2016 in exile in Germany. Eight more defendants are released in Turkey. The hearing was adjourned after the hearing on 18 July.
The prosecution accuses the defendants of attempting to overthrow the government in connection with the government-critical Gezi protests of 2013. Kavala is also accused of financing the demonstrations with foreign aid. The prosecution demands life imprisonment under difficult conditions.
Protests after decision
In front of the prison where the trial took place protests broke out after the decision. Amnesty International litigation watchdog Milena Buyum tweeted: "Outrageous decision to extend Osman Kavala's pre-trial detention, tears and screams in court." Greens MEP Rebecca Harms, who had come to observe the process on Monday, tweeted about a "very sad news".
At the beginning of the negotiations on Monday Kavala had demanded his release and an acquittal. He rejected the "irrational reproaches" of the indictment, which "lack any basis". "Never in my life has I been in favor of changing the government by any means other than free elections," Kavala said. There is no evidence that he wanted to prepare the ground for a military coup. He has always supported "projects for peace and reconciliation".
Criticism of the approach of the authorities
His lawyer, Kutsal Bayraktar, said the entire indictment contained no evidence that violence was being used to overthrow the government or prevent them from performing their duties. He also criticized that Kavala had to wait 20 months for his trial.
Kavala works together with its foundation Anadolu Kültür among others with the Goethe-Institut and the Berlin Senate. He was arrested in October 2017. At the beginning of November of the same year, the formal act of arrest followed. It was not until the beginning of March 2019 that the prosecution filed the indictment against Kavala and the 15 other accused.
The Gezi protests had ignited in the summer of 2013 on the development of Gezi Park in the center of Istanbul. They expanded into nationwide demonstrations against the authoritarian policies of the then Prime Minister and today's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The government brutally beat them down.
ww / qu (dpa / afp)
ليست هناك تعليقات