Trial in Turkey: Kavala remains in custody

A Turkish criminal court has extended the pre-trial detention of the patron of culture Kavala. In view of the international protests in the case, steps by the Council of Europe against Turkey are now drawing closer.

The Turkish culture promoter and entrepreneur Osman Kavala remains in custody. A criminal court in Istanbul extended the 64-year-old’s pre-trial detention and set the date for the next hearing in his trial for January 17. Kavala was not present at the court hearing. Since it is not a “fair trial”, he thinks it is “pointless to attend the upcoming hearings,” he said, according to his lawyer Tolga Aytore.

The public prosecutor’s office accuses Kavala of having co-financed the Gezi protests, which were critical of the government, in 2013 and of having been involved in the planning of the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016. Kavala rejects these allegations.

Years of incarceration without conviction

He has been detained without conviction for more than four years. Kavala was originally arrested on charges of funding the Gezi protests. In February 2020, a court acquitted him of this allegation. Kavala was released from prison, but arrested again after a few hours – this time in connection with the attempted coup in 2016 and on charges of espionage. In January 2021, an appeals court overturned the first acquittal.

Observers criticize the process as politically motivated. In October the ambassadors of ten western allies of Turkey, including the USA and Germany, called on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to release Kavala. Erdogan then threatened the diplomats with expulsion. According to the current court decision, the Council of Europe, which is supposed to uphold human rights in its 47 member countries, could initiate proceedings against Turkey. Turkey’s membership or voting rights in the Council of Europe could then be suspended.