Lawyers demand freedom for Turkey's Osman Kavala after year in prison
Turkey’s best-known public intellectual Osman Kavala has been held in pre-trial detention without even an indictment in what his lawyers believe constitutes “torture” and observers say is an attempt to stifle dissent.
Lawyers for Turkish civil society leader Osman Kavala, jailed a year ago on suspicion of involvement in a failed military coup, broke their silence on Wednesday to call for his release, saying the failure to indict him amounted to “torture.”
Kavala’s case has become another flashpoint in Turkey’s troubled relationship with the West since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a far-reaching crackdown against his opponents and civil society in the wake of the military’s attempt to seize power in 2016. More than 50,000 people, including politicians, journalists and rights activists, have been imprisoned.
Kavala, 61, has been held in solitary confinement without any formal indictment or even a deposition by the prosecutor, leaving his lawyers to speculate over what charges he might eventually face. He was formally arrested on suspicion that he supported four distinct “terrorist” groups and sought to topple Turkey’s constitutional order and government.
“We do not know what he is accused of. His basic rights are being violated, and enduring this for a year now amounts to torture,” lawyer Koksal Bayraktar told a news conference. “If there is rule of law in Turkey, then Kavala must be released and appear before a court once the crimes for which he was arrested have been articulated.”
