A Turkish court ruled Monday to keep Turkey’s top philanthropist behind bars, despite a looming disciplinary process from the Council of Europe (COE) that may eventually lead to suspending Turkey’s membership from the pan-European organization.
The court’s Jan. 17 ruling that Osman Kavala, a businessman and the founder of nonprofit cultural institution Anadolu Kultur, must stay in detention means that Ankara has passed on what Western politicians and rights advocates called its “final chance” before the COE formally starts its rarely-used infringement process against Ankara.
