The Open Society Foundations urged the president of Turkey today to stop invoking George Soros’s name in an effort to obscure the facts around the case of Osman Kavala, the businessman and philanthropist who has spent four years in prison there on bogus charges.

In comments broadcast on Thursday, the Turkish president described Kavala as “Soros scum” after 10 Western countries, including the United States and Germany, urged Turkey to release him. He also compared Kavala’s four years behind bars to the treatment of “bandits, murders, and terrorists” in other countries.

BIANET

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has handed down its judgement on the conviction of Vedat Şorli for "insulting the President" as per the Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

DUVAR ENGLISH

Some 78 bar associations across Turkey released a statement on Sep. 15 calling for the dismissal of a Diyarbakır judge who evacuated a group of attorneys including the local bar association head from the courtroom on Sep. 13.

DUVAR ENGLISH

The Human Rights Association's (İHD) Adana branch chair Yakup Ataş is facing an investigation over a statement he released on April 24, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Turkish prosecutors are accusing Ataş of “instigating hatred and hostility among the public.”

BIANET The event to be held by the İstanbul Labor, Peace and Democracy Forces on the occasion of September 1 World Peace Day was prevented by the police in Taksim Tünel yesterday (September 5).

BIANET

The trial over the killing of Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Tahir Elçi continued at the Diyarbakır 10th Heavy Penal Court today (July 14).

The third hearing today was attended by the Elçi family and their lawyers, the Diyarbakır Bar as an intervening party, the chairs of bar associations and lawyers. Defendants and anonymous witnesses attended the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

BIANET

Today is September 1 World Peace Day. Ahead of the rally to be held by the labor, peace and democracy forces in İstanbul's Bakırköy on September 5 on this occasion, the Sub-Governor's Office of Bakırköy has banned all types of meetings and demonstrations for five days.

Human Rights Defenders Solidarity network components Association for Monitoring Equal Rights (Turkey), Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden), Truth Justice Memory Center (Turkey), Human Rights Association (Turkey), Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (Turkey), Life Memory Freedom Association (Turkey), Media and Law Studies Association (Turkey), Netherlands Helsinki Committee (Netherlands), P24 Association for Independent Journalism (Turkey), Research Institute on Turkey (United States),&nbs

BIANET

The Rize Governor's Office has banned the villagers' protests against the stone quarry attempted to be opened in İkizdere by Cengiz Construction, a company of the pro-government Cengiz Holding.

According to a statement released by the Governor's Office, the related ban on meetings and demonstrations will be in effect in İkizdere, within the jurisdiction of both the police and gendarmerie.

DUVAR ENGLISH

The Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court on May 21 began the retrial of renowned activist Osman Kavala and 15 others over the Gezi Park protests. The court ruled to keep Kavala behind bars by a majority of votes, with the chief judge dissenting the decision. In his defense statement, Kavala said that charges against him resemble the legal basis utilized in Nazi Germany.