A Turkish court on Friday extended the imprisonment of philanthropist Osman Kavala, whose case caused a diplomatic crisis with the U.S. and other Western countries after they called for his release.
The court’s decision paves the way for the Council of Europe to launch infringement proceedings against Turkey.
A Turkish court has acquitted Dr. Şeyhmus Gökalp, the Turkish Medical Association’s (TTB) Honorary Board member, of terrorism charges. Prosecutors were demanding a prison sentence of up to 15 years for Dr. Gökalp.
Having taught classes at Boğaziçi University for 14 years and been dismissed by appointed rector Naci İnci on July 16, academic and documentary filmmaker Can Candan was not allowed to enter the university campus where he was invited to a course yesterday (November 18).
In the trial of lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and People's Law Bureau (HHB), the prosecutor pronounced his opinion as to the accusations at the hearing yesterday (November 17).
A group of Norwegian lawyers on Nov. 16 staged a demonstration in front of the Turkish Embassy building in Oslo in protest of the imprisonment of their colleagues from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) in Turkey, daily Evrensel reported.
The Open Society Foundations join today with thousands of voices inside and outside Turkey, calling on the Turkish government to comply with the rule of law and end the imprisonment of Osman Kavala, the philanthropist and businessman who today marks his fourth year behind bars.
President Erdogan accepted the greetings on the occasion of Republic Day on 29 October at a ceremony held at the Presidential Complex.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has said he has ordered the foreign ministry to declare 10 ambassadors from western countries persona non grata for calling for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala.
Kavala has been in prison for four years, charged with financing nationwide protests in 2013 and with involvement in a failed coup in 2016. He denies the charges.
Jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala said on Friday that it will be "meaningless" for him to attend his trial as a fair hearing is impossible given comments made about him by President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.
The Council of Europe said on Friday it would begin infringement proceedings against member state Turkey in November if philanthropist Osman Kavala is not released from prison in accordance with a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling.