US calls on Turkey to “immediately release” activist Osman Kavala

Washington called on Ankara to “immediately release” the prominent figure of Turkish civil society, Osman Kavala, who has been arrested for more than three years on charges of “deception” related to the failed 2016 coup and anti-government demonstrations in 2013.

“The misleading accusations leveled against Kavala and his arrest and the repeated delays in completing his trial, particularly due to the merger of the cases against him, undermine respect for the rule of law and democracy,” said the Department of Justice spokesman. State, Ned Price, in a statement. .

He added: “We urge Turkey to respect the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and ensure a fair, transparent and swift solution to this case in accordance with its international laws and obligations.”

Kavala, a businessman and symbol of civil society in Turkey, has been detained since October 2017 and faces life in prison if convicted of the charges against him, including “attempting to overthrow the government”, in reference to his alleged involvement in the failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016 and “political espionage”.

More recently, the Turkish judiciary merged this case with other cases brought against Kavala for his alleged role in anti-government protests in 2013, after an appeals court reversed the acquittal obtained a year earlier in this second case in January.