‘Summary of the 3.5 years: Crime not found’

* Image: Murat Başol

Click to read the article in Turkish

Ahead of the Gezi retrial on May 21, the attorneys of arrested businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala have released a written statement titled, "Summary of the 3.5 years: Crime not found."

"Our country is going through extraordinary times when criminal cases that cannot be encountered in any state governed by the rule of law have become widespread," the attorneys have said, raising concerns that "practices that violate universal legal norms and even applicable laws and established judicial procedures have become daily occurrences."

Underlining that "the story of Kavala's detention is a remarkable example of the politicization of the judiciary and its use for political purposes," the statement has referred to his detention as "an example of the attempts to create crimes according to the person who is sought to be punished."

"It clearly shows how conspiracy theories can be used instead of evidence, ignoring not only legal norms but also the rule of reason."

Other highlights from the statement are as follows:

'ECtHR judgement circumvented'

"Kavala was arrested on 1 November 2017 on the charges of 'attempting to overthrow the government or to prevent it from exercising its functions' (Article 312 of the TCC) and 'attempting to overthrow the constitutional order through force and violence' (Article 309 of the TCC).

"He was acquitted in his trial for attempting to overthrow the government by acting as the financier and organizer of the Gezi Protests. After the decision of acquittal, he was not released but ordered detention again on the second charge, for which a release order had already been issued.

"In the meantime, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that there was not any evidence to raise reasonable suspicion for the charge of overthrowing the government and other charges related to the attempted coup of 15 July 2016; that the detention constituted the abuse of power for political reasons; and that Kavala should be released immediately. 

"A third charge, the charge of espionage (Article 328 of the Turkish Criminal Code - TCC), was brought in order to circumvent the judgment of the ECtHR and continue the detention.

"This charge was included in the second indictment issued against Kavala without explaining which classified information was the substance of the allegation of espionage and how and from whom it was obtained. The indictment also included incredible allegations that Kavala was in contact with the secret officers of the Gülenist organization, that he was involved in the attempted coup of 15 July, and that he even coordinated those who would take part in the new government to be established after the coup.

'Kavala never interrogated by prosecutor'

"In the indictment, it was alleged that Kavala had frequent contact with Henri Barkey, who was alleged to be a secret agent of the foreign powers behind the attempted coup, as a basis for the charges of espionage and supporting the attempted coup of July 15.

"The so-called evidence for this allegation was the fact that Kavala's mobile phone transmitted signals from places close to Barkey's location, even though his mobile phone was transmitting signals from his office, which was between the Divan and Hilton hotels. Furthermore, their mobile phones did not even transmit signals to the same cell tower. The explanation provided for the fact that there was no concrete evidence was that the relationship was maintained in a very secretive manner.

"During his imprisonment of more than 3.5 years when he was ordered detention on different dates in relation to the cases in which he was tried on highly serious charges such as overthrowing the government, being involved in the attempted coup, and espionage, Osman Kavala has never been interrogated by the prosecutor.

"Despite this severe lack of evidence, at different stages of the legal process the President made several remarks suggesting that Kavala was guilty. In one of these remarks, he criticized the decision of acquittal in the Gezi trial and described it as an operation to ensure the release of Kavala.

"In the hearing to be held in 30th Assize Court on 21 May, it is expected that the Gezi case concerning Kavala will be merged with the Gezi case concerning the Çarşı group, with both cases joined with the trial concerning the allegations of supporting the attempted coup of 15 July and espionage against Kavala. This is an attempt to establish a connection between different actions and people who do not know each other. This practice, which we have previously encountered in the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer trials, emerges as a convenient method for creating perception in political cases. It seems that the criminalization of the Gezi Events as a foreign plot through the judiciary will remain on the agenda of the politics and that the efforts to keep Kavala in prison will continue as a proof of this narrative."

(HA/SD)