Amnesty International: Do the right thing and free Osman Kavala

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Amnesty International has released a written statement and urged the authorities in Turkey to release arrested rights defender and businessperson Osman Kavala, who has been behind bars for 1,144 days.

Entitled "Do the right thing and free Osman Kavala", the statement of the organization came ahead of his hearing today (December 18).

"Ahead of the start of the trial tomorrow of imprisoned civil society leader Osman Kavala, Amnesty International have called for his immediate and unconditional release and for all charges against him to be dropped," the statement of the organization has underlined.

Speaking about the issue, Amnesty International's Europe Director Nils Muižniek has also briefly stated the following:

"Osman Kavala is facing more baseless, politically motivated charges in a prosecution which is part of a wider attempt by Turkish authorities to silence independent civil society. Kavala should not have spent a single minute behind bars, let alone more than three years in pre-trial detention.

"Earlier this year Osman Kavala was acquitted of one charge, only then to be accused of 'espionage' in a barely concealed attempt to circumvent a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that his detention was unlawful.

"This only useful decision that can come out of the hearing is the court ruling to end this travesty of justice, do the right thing and free Osman Kavala."

What happened?

Businessperson Osman Kavala, who was on his way back from Antep, was taken into custody at İstanbul Atatürk Airport on October 18, 2017.

On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Kavala was arrested on charges of "attempting to change the Constitutional order and to overthrow the government." In the official document referring him to court with a request of arrest, it was alleged that he was the head and financier of Gezi.

The sixth and final hearing of the lawsuit filed into Gezi resistance was held at the İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court in Silivri on February 18, 2020.

Announcing its ruling after the statements of defendants and their attorneys, the court board has ruled that Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Ali Hakan Altınay, Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, Çiğdem Mater Utku and Mine Özerden shall be acquitted as "there was no concrete and material evidence as to the committal of the offenses charged." The court has also ruled that businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala, the only arrested defendant of the case, shall be released.

Osman Kavala was the only arrested defendant in the 16-defendant Gezi Trial, which started on June 24, 2019. Having been acquitted in this trial, Kavala was arrested again, this time on charge of "political or military espionage." Kavala is still held in Silivri Prison in İstanbul.

Announcing its ruling on Kavala on December 10, 2019, the ECtHR concluded that his rights were violated by his imprisonment.

The ECtHR concluded that the European Convention on Human Rights was violated on the grounds that Kavala was arrested without any reasonable suspicion and with political motives and that the Constitutional Court did not examine his application within a reasonable period of time.

This ruling became final on May 12, 2020. While this ruling has not yet been put into effect, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe made a call to Turkey about the final ruling of the ECtHR and urged Turkey to implement the ECtHR's ruling of right violation and to release him.

On the other side, the Constitutional Court added Kavala's file to its agenda on September 29, 2020; however, it then postponed the session where the individual application of Osman Kavala would be discussed.

On the same day, it was announced that the indictment lodged by İstanbul Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Hasan Yılmaz was presented to the İstanbul 36th Heavy Penal Court and accepted by the court.

The new indictment prepared against Osman Kavala charged him with "obtaining state information that needs to remain confidential for political and military espionage purposes" and "attempting to overthrow Constitutional order." The indictment also alleged that Prof. Henri Barkey, an academic and a former US diplomat, "plotted" the July 2016 coup attempt. (HA/SD)