Turkish court begins retrial of philanthropist Osman Kavala
Businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has remained in prison without a conviction since 2017, was denied release on Friday.
A retrial for Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala and 15 others accused of organizing the 2013 Gezi Park protests opened on Friday, in a case that human rights organizations say is emblematic of Turkey’s crackdown on civil society.
Turkish prosecutors allege that Kavala coordinated and financed the nationwide unrest that erupted in central Istanbul, sparked by a heavy-handed police response to environmentalists protesting the park’s planned demolition. He was arrested in November 2017.
In February 2020, Kavala was acquitted of the Gezi Park-related charge, but rearrested hours later on charges of spying for the United States and aiding in the attempted 2016 coup that sought to topple Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan. Kavala denies all the allegations.
In January, an appeals court overturned the Gezi Park acquittal and said that the case should be reopened and include the espionage charges.
