Turkey orders continued detention of philanthropist Kavala following acquittal
A Turkish court has acquitted philanthropist Osman Kavala and eight others of seeking to overthrow the government, but Istanbul’s chief prosecutor has ordered his continued detention on charges stemming from a separate case also pertaining to his supposed involvement in the failed 2016 coup.
In a widely unexpected verdict, a Turkish court acquitted prominent philanthropist Osman Kavala and eight co-defendants in a high-profile case that has highlighted the malleability of Turkey’s politicized justice system. Kavala, who was held for 840 days on flimsy charges of seeking to overthrow the government, was expected to be finally freed from the maximum-security Silivri prison on the outskirts of Istanbul. The verdict triggered loud cheers from family, friends and international observers present at the hearing. But their joy was short lived. In a counter move, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor ordered Kavala’s continued detention on charges stemming from a separate case also pertaining to his supposed involvement in the failed 2016 coup. It remained unclear at the time of publication whether he will be re-arrested on those charges.
In December, the European Court of Human Rights had called for Kavala’s immediate release, citing a lack of reasonable suspicion that he had committed any crime. As Turkey is a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, the court’s rulings are accordingly binding, so Ankara ignoring the court’s opinion was widely interpreted to mean that Kavala would remain behind bars. Hence the surge of disbelief and jubilation.
Pundits rushed to explain the government's apparent U-turn from its protracted smear campaign against Kavala. He was accused of instigating the nationwide demonstrations in 2013 against the government's plans to erect an Ottoman-style shopping center in Gezi park, a rare green space in Istanbul. Pro-government media outlets competed with the court to tout surreal charges against Kavala based, among other things, on secret witness testimony that was later retracted. The conventional wisdom is that the case, opened after the failed 2016 coup, stemmed from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conviction that Kavala and assorted other, often fictitious, enemies were conspiring with Western powers to get rid of him.
Thus today’s verdict does not signal the judiciary's miraculous recovery of its independence, as attested by the Istanbul prosecutor’s subsequent appeal.
