Despite European threats, Turkey extends the detention of opposition leader Kavala

An Istanbul court on Friday extended the prison sentence of Turkish businessman and civil activist Osman Kavala, who was jailed without any verdict for four years despite European threats to impose sanctions on Ankara.

The regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses the 64-year-old dissident and leading figure in civil society of trying to destabilize Turkey.

He was particularly targeted because in 2013 he supported anti-government demonstrations known as the Gezi movement that targeted Erdogan while he was prime minister.

Last May a sit-in in front of the Palace of Justice on the new Kavala trial

Last May a sit-in in front of the Palace of Justice on the new Kavala trial

He was then accused of attempting to “overthrow the government” during the failed coup attempt in 2016. Kavala has consistently denied the allegations.

He will appear again on November 26 before the court, which found that he lacked “new elements” to order his release, which his lawyers and human rights organizations are demanding.

Amnesty International condemned Kavala’s “cruel punishment” and the “torture of him and his family”, considering it a “day of shame” for Turkey.

After being acquitted for the first time in February 2020 of the Gezi-related charges, Kavala was placed in pre-trial detention to “support” the coup attempt against Erdogan. At the time he denounced a strategy aimed at extending his detention.

In the courtroom, which was filled with a large presence that included many American and European diplomats, Osman Kavala appeared on a live screen today from Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, where he has been held since October 2017.

Among the audience was his wife, Aisha Bougherra, a professor of political economy at Istanbul’s BoÄŸaziçi University. “I don’t feel like I’m out of trial,” he told reporters as he left the courthouse.

    Aicha Bougherra (archive)

Aicha Bougherra (archive)

For her part, Amnesty International’s Melina Bayoum told AFP that “the decision to keep Osman Kavala behind bars had no justification or legal basis” from the start, noting that “he was never convicted of any crime. “.

In a statement released by his lawyers at the hearing, Kavala found that “what is most striking is not just that the charges (against him) are not based on any evidence. They are fictitious allegations and part of conspiracy theories. that I’m hard to understand. “

He stated that the charge of “espionage” was added to the list of charges in May 2020, considering these allegations as “slander”. “Extending my detention on such a fragile basis is tantamount to extrajudicial execution,” he added.

“This is a way to circumvent the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights,” which asked for his release in December 2019.

The Council of Europe also recently threatened Ankara with sanctions that could be adopted during its next session (November 30 to December 2), if the opponent is not released until then.

If so, Turkey would be the second country to be subject to a “violation measure”, as so far only Russia has been suspended from the council. in based on tale fit from 2017 to 2019.

In case in that during the session of November 16 it was decided to release Kavala, who will enter his fifth year in prison on October 18, this punishment cannot be inflicted on Ankara.

On Friday, the United States, the European Union, Germany, France, Denmark, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden sent representatives to the court to express their interest in this trial. The session was also attended by several Turkish opposition MPs.

On the other hand, the American academic Henry Barkey, present in Istanbul at the time of the failed coup in 2016, is absent, accused by the Turkish government of being a CIA agent involved in the organization of this attempt, due to his presence in the United States.

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