Judgment in Turkey
Cultural patron Kavala sentenced to life imprisonment
4/25/2022, 5:47 p.m
He has been in prison for four years, and now the verdict in this highly controversial trial has been reached: Osman Kavala has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Turkey.
Turkish cultural promoter Osman Kavala has been sentenced to life imprisonment by an Istanbul court. The three judges issued the verdict against the 64-year-old on charges of attempting to overthrow the government, according to a reporter from the AFP news agency who was present. The judge ruled out the possibility of parole.
Kavala has been incarcerated in Silivri, a high-security prison near Istanbul, for four years without being sentenced. The businessman was originally arrested in 2017 on charges of financing and organizing the 2013 Gezi protests in Istanbul against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
In February 2020, a court acquitted him of this charge. Kavala was released from prison at the time, but arrested again a few hours later – this time in connection with the attempted coup against Erdogan in 2016 and because of allegations of espionage. Kavala denies the allegations. Internationally, the case against him was sharply criticized.
Seven co-defendants, who appeared in court at the same time as the publisher and billionaire, were sentenced to 18 years in prison. They were accused of supporting Kavala.