In Turkey, a court has sentenced businessman and civil society leader Osman Kavala to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in a decision condemned by human rights groups. Seven co-defendants each received 18-year prison terms. Osman Kavala has been jailed in pretrial detention since 2017, after he was arrested on charges related to the 2013 Gezi Park protests. He was also accused of organizing a failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in 2016. Kavala’s supporters gathered outside a courthouse in Istanbul Monday as his life sentence was handed down.
Sera Kadigil: “If this was a lawful decision, we would be able to comment on it, but it is not. This is the culmination of the government’s revenge against the Gezi Park protesters. This is the execution of orders coming from the Turkish president.”
Amnesty International condemned the harsh sentences for Kavala and his co-defendants. The group said in a statement, “Today, we have witnessed a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions. This verdict deals a devastating blow not only to Osman Kavala, his co-defendants and their families, but to everyone who believes in justice and human rights activism in Turkey and beyond.”