Court orders philanthropist Kavala to remain in Istanbul prison

A court in Istanbul in a ruling on Friday, ordered that philanthropist and entrepreneur, Osman Kavala, to remain in prison. Founder of the Anadolu Kultur non-governmental organisation, the 64-year-old Kavala, had been in pretrial detention in Istanbul since 2017, even though the European Court of Human Rights ordered his release in 2019.

Kavala, who could face life in prison if convicted, stood accused of espionage and attempting to overthrow the government in connection with the 2013 Gezi protests and the 2016 coup attempt. He denied all charges. His lengthy detention had triggered a diplomatic crisis with Turkey's Western allies, after some, including the U.S. and Germany, called for Kavala's immediate release.

Kavala's wife, opposition lawmakers and some Western diplomats, including from Germany and Sweden, attended Friday's hearing in a packed courtroom at Caglayan courthouse. Kavala, who was being held in Istanbul's high-security Silivri prison some 85 kilometres west of the city, did not attend the hearing. His lawyers criticised his extended detention as politically motivated and based on abstract, baseless and fictitious grounds.