Osman Kavala, the Turkish businessman and critic of President Erdogan, remains in jail for now. A court in Turkey has decided that Kavala’s case went to court today. The 64-year-old man has now been held in custody for four years.
The next hearing in the lawsuit is in January. The chance that Kavala would be released was minimal, despite pressure from Europe. It was him last month center of a diplomatic row between European countries and Turkey.
According to the Turkish government, Kavala is complicit in the failed coup in 2016. He is also accused of fomenting anti-government demonstrations in 2013.
fire letter
The imprisoned philanthropist claims to be innocent. “The messages of support I receive and the calls for my release from abroad give me strength,” he wrote in response to questions from the NOS. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that Kavala has been wrongly detained, there is no evidence to support the charges against him and that he should be released immediately.
When ambassadors called for the 64-year-old critic’s release in a burning letter, the Turkish authorities threatened to deport them. Ultimately, that plan was never carried out.
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