ISTANBUL: A Turkish court is expected to hear a verdict in the long-running case against the philanthropist that begins on Friday. Usman Kavala And 15 Others Who Have Been Stressed AnkaraRelations with Western Allies.
Kavala, 64, has been in prison for 4-1/2 years without a conviction and denies the charges he’s accused of gezik Protests in 2013 that began as a small protest in Istanbul Park and turned into nationwide anti-government unrest, killed eight protesters and two police officers.
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and activists say the case is politically motivated and marks a crackdown on dissent under the President Tayyip Erdoganof rule, claim the government denies.
accuser aedip sahner requested that kavala and architect Musella yapisi He may be convicted of attempting to overthrow the government through violence, which will entail a sentence of life in prison without parole. He said six others should be punished for aiding them, while the case against eight other defendants should be set aside after not attending the trial abroad.
Kavala and another defendant, in whose case the prosecutor also said they should be set aside, are also accused of being involved in a 2016 coup attempt, which the ECHR said was also lacking in evidence. Yapisi has been acquitted twice of charges related to the Gezi protests. All defendants deny the allegations, saying the Gezi protests were protected by constitutional rights.
The ECHR called for Kavala’s release in late 2019 and ruled that his detention serves to silence the philanthropist whom various civil society projects have sought in recent decades to promote social change. But Turkish courts have not freed Kavala and Ankara now faces suspension from the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, after “infringement proceedings” were initiated because of his continued detention.
The embassies of Ankara’s western allies, including the United States and Germany, also echoed the ECHR call for Kavala’s release last year, prompting Erdogan to threaten to expel his ambassadors.
Kavala was acquitted of charges related to the Gazi protest in 2020, but hours later another court ordered his arrest based on a charge of attempting to overthrow a constitutional order related to the coup attempt. That court later ruled to release him on that charge, but ordered his detention on espionage charges in the same case, which critics said was aimed at circumventing the ECHR’s decision.
Kavala’s acquittal, along with eight others in the Gazi trial, was overturned last year and the case was combined with other charges against him.
Kavala, 64, has been in prison for 4-1/2 years without a conviction and denies the charges he’s accused of gezik Protests in 2013 that began as a small protest in Istanbul Park and turned into nationwide anti-government unrest, killed eight protesters and two police officers.
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and activists say the case is politically motivated and marks a crackdown on dissent under the President Tayyip Erdoganof rule, claim the government denies.
accuser aedip sahner requested that kavala and architect Musella yapisi He may be convicted of attempting to overthrow the government through violence, which will entail a sentence of life in prison without parole. He said six others should be punished for aiding them, while the case against eight other defendants should be set aside after not attending the trial abroad.
Kavala and another defendant, in whose case the prosecutor also said they should be set aside, are also accused of being involved in a 2016 coup attempt, which the ECHR said was also lacking in evidence. Yapisi has been acquitted twice of charges related to the Gezi protests. All defendants deny the allegations, saying the Gezi protests were protected by constitutional rights.
The ECHR called for Kavala’s release in late 2019 and ruled that his detention serves to silence the philanthropist whom various civil society projects have sought in recent decades to promote social change. But Turkish courts have not freed Kavala and Ankara now faces suspension from the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, after “infringement proceedings” were initiated because of his continued detention.
The embassies of Ankara’s western allies, including the United States and Germany, also echoed the ECHR call for Kavala’s release last year, prompting Erdogan to threaten to expel his ambassadors.
Kavala was acquitted of charges related to the Gazi protest in 2020, but hours later another court ordered his arrest based on a charge of attempting to overthrow a constitutional order related to the coup attempt. That court later ruled to release him on that charge, but ordered his detention on espionage charges in the same case, which critics said was aimed at circumventing the ECHR’s decision.
Kavala’s acquittal, along with eight others in the Gazi trial, was overturned last year and the case was combined with other charges against him.