Usman Kavala – © AFP
Turkey summoned the ambassadors of ten Western countries for accountability. The ten countries have dared to jointly demand the release of opponent Osman Kavala. Kavala was imprisoned without conviction for four years. Therefore, the ten countries demanded a “fair and prompt treatment” of his case.
GVSource: Belgian
The ten countries said: “The continued delay in his trial (…) casts a shadow over respect for democracy, the rule of law and the transparency of the Turkish justice system.” These are Canada, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United States and Sweden.
“The Turkish Republic is a democratic constitutional state,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter. “It is not acceptable for ambassadors to make recommendations and suggestions to the judiciary in an ongoing case.”
An Istanbul court ruled earlier this month that businessman and philanthropist Kavala will be imprisoned until November 26. This prolonged detention came despite European threats to impose sanctions. Kavala has been imprisoned since October 2017, and since 2013 the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused 64-year-old Kavala of wanting to destabilize Turkey.
The case revolves around the protests on Gezi Park. The protests centered on government plans to develop an area around Istanbul’s central Taksim Square. This means that one of the city’s last green spaces, Gezi Park, will be gone. Turkish courts also accuse him of being involved in the failed 2016 coup attempt.
