Powered by
Sponsored by

Who is Osman Kavala, the Turkish businessman who has been jailed for four years

'No country or person can give orders to Turkish courts about legal proceedings'

kavalaf Osman Kavala | Amnesty International

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, October 21 threatened to expel ten ambassadors from Turkey over their demands to release businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying that their demands were irresponsible. Osman Kavala has spent nearly four years in prison over charges of espionage and attempting to overthrow the government. Kavala languishes in prison, despite not being convicted.

The ten ambassadors were from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

In February the US State Department said, “The specious charges against Kavala, his ongoing detention, and the continuing delays in the conclusion of his trial, including through the merger of cases against him, undermine respect for the rule of law and democracy.”

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry responded by saying, “Turkey is a state of law. No country or person can give orders to Turkish courts about legal proceedings.”

Kavala is the founder of several publishing houses including the Iletisim Publishing Company and is a supporter of minority rights, Kurdish affairs and Armenian-Turkish relations. Kavala hails from a family of tobacco traders. He has been involved in environmental and civil rights causes. The Iletism Publishing House published pro-democracy content in Turkey after the military coup of 1980, the New York Times reports.

Osman Kavala has also been pro normalisation of fraught relations between Armenia and Turkey. When a catastrophic earthquake hit Turkey in 1999, killing 17,000 people, Kavala stepped in and helped with relief efforts. Kavala has been imprisoned since 2017 for allegedly financing and orchestrating protests in 2013 against the building of a shopping mall at Gezi Park in Istanbul. He was then charged with “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” and “attempting to overthrow the government”.

The ten ambassadors, in a joint statement, had called for Kavala’s release. Erdogan said the statement was an ‘impudence’.

Several people in Turkey view Kaval as a left-leaning polarising figure. In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights called for Kavala’s release. In 2020, Kavala was acquitted of charges related to organising protests in 2013, but, was slapped with charges related to the failed 2016 coup against Erdogan’s government. 

The Council of Europe says it will start infringement proceedings against Turkey if Kavala is not released by the end of November, Euronews reports.

The next hearing in Turkey in Kavala's case will be held on November 26. If convicted, Kavala faces a life term in prison without parole. 

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines