A Turkish court ruled on Monday that Osman Kavala, a renowned philanthropist and peace advocate, remain in prison in a long-running trial seen as a bellwether for Turkey’s crippled democracy. The decision has raised worries that Turkey sees its geostrategic influence, highlighted by the conflict in Ukraine, as a free pass for further rights abuses.
A verdict was widely expected in today's hearing but was put off until April 22. This was to allow the defense to respond to the prosecutor’s final opinion on behalf of Kavala and others accused of espionage and seeking to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
