A court in Turkey has sentenced activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government.
The 64-year-old has already spent four years in jail after being found guilty of charges related to nationwide protests in 2013 and a failed coup attempt in 2016.
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Turkish philanthropist sentenced to spend rest of his life behind bars
SBS News
26/04/202204:16
The court also sentenced seven others to 18 years in jail for aiding an attempt to overthrow the government.
Kavala denied all the charges and told the court via video link from a high-security prison near Istanbul that the entire process amounted to "judicial assassination".
"These are conspiracy theories drafted on political and ideological grounds," Kavala told the court moments before the sentence.
The marathon hearing has been gnawing on Turkey's strategic but tempestuous ties with its main Western allies since Kavala's unexpected arrest in October 2017.
Kavala was then best known as a softly-spoken businessman who was spending part of his wealth to promote culture and projects aimed at reconciling Turkey and Armenia.
Turkish President Erdogan portrayed him as a leftist agent of the Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros and accused him of using foreign money to try to overthrow the state.
"We can never be together with people like Kavala," Mr Erdogan said in 2020.
Amnesty International described the verdict as "a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions" and Human Rights Watch described the conviction and sentence as "the worst possible outcome to this show trial".
Protestors shout slogans as they gather in front of the Istanbul Caglayan Court House in support of jailed Turkish businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala. Source: AAP / Erdem Sahin
In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) called for his release and ruled his detention was designed to silence him.
In 2020, he was acquitted of charges related to the Gezi protests but was arrested soon after and accused of being part of the attempted coup in 2016.
At this trial, he was charged and convicted over both matters and acquitted on separate espionage charges.
Outside the court, members of opposition political parties and activists condemned the outcome.
Member of Turkey's Workers' Party, Sera Kadigil, said the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisiis (AKP) party was using Kavala's case to assert its power over its people.
"If this was a lawful decision, we would be able to comment on it, but it is not," Ms Kadigil said.
"This is the summary of AKP government's revenge against the Gezi Park protests. This is the execution of orders coming from the Palace [Turkish Presidency]," Ms Kagigil said.
The parliamentary group leader of the Turkish Republican People's Party, Ozgur Ozel, said Mr Erdogan will be held accountable for Kavala's punishment.
"Today we say: Someone tried to condemn environmentalists and enlightened people. Court doors and prison bars closing on them cannot condemn them. Gezi is free. Kavala is free. All our friends arrested today are free.
"Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be convicted before history. He will be held accountable. This is our promise, this is our promise, this is our promise," Mr Ozel said.
Filiz Kerestecioglu from the Turkish People's Democratic Party said the Gezi Park protests were not unlawful.
"Our friends taken today are our souls. They have nothing to do with any crime ... We've all been there [at Gezi Park, during the protests]. If they're going to judge, let them judge us all. None of us are afraid, we will not be intimidated. We promise this," she said.
United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price has also weighed in to condemn Kavala's sentence, saying it was "deeply troubled and disappointed" with his "unjust conviction".
"We remain gravely concerned by the continued judicial harassment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey, including through prolonged pretrial detention, overly broad claims of support for terrorism, and criminal insult cases," Mr Price said.
"The people of Turkey deserve to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms without fear of retribution."
With AFP.
