USA, European Council fume at Turkish court’s verdict on Kavala

Washington/Istanbul: The United States of America stated it was “deeply troubled and disappointed” by a Turkish court’s decision today to uphold the conviction of civil rights activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala, who, in April 2022, was found guilty of   “attempting to overthrow the (Turkish) government”.

As all eight suspects including Kavala (65) have been sentenced to imprisonment for 18 years without parole, the US, which has always been critical of his arrest and wants him to be freed, termed his conviction as “unjust” which is “inconsistent with respect for the rule of law”. The Council of Europe had also repeatedly called on Turkey to immediately release Kavala. 

Kavala’s conviction can still be appealed to the Turkish Court of Cassation.

“We again call on Turkey to release Osman Kavala, in keeping with European Court of Human Rights rulings, as well as to free all others arbitrarily incarcerated. The people of Turkey deserve to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms without fear of retribution,” Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson, US Department of State, said in Washington.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had accused Kavala of financing mass anti-government protests in 2013 although the latter always denied the allegations. He was arrested in 2017 and was detained for more than four years until his trial.

In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights said Kavala’s imprisonment aimed to silence him and other human rights defenders.

Significantly Kavala was acquitted in February 2020 of charges that connected him with the 2013 protests but was re-arrested on charges linked to a 2016 coup attempt, which the Turkish government blamed on a network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Kavala emerged as one of the important players in Turkey’s developing civil society activities during the 1990s, working in a variety of civil society organizations and projects. In 2002, he founded Anadolu Kültür together with a team of like-minded individuals from the arts, business world, and civil society to enable the production, viewing and sharing of arts and culture in Turkey, supporting local initiatives, emphasizing cultural diversity and rights and strengthening local and international collaborations.

Kavala was also a founding member, board member and on the advisory board of many civil society organizations  in Turkey.