Controversy over activists Kavla: Turkey summons German ambassadors

Activist Kavala has been imprisoned in Turkey for four years without a court sentence, and ten ambassadors have now demanded his release. Including German. The Turkish government is outraged.

Turkey’s foreign ministry has summoned ambassadors from Germany and nine other countries. The reason for this is his announcement for the immediate release of human rights activist Osman Kavala. Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu wrote on Twitter: “The ambassadors who make recommendations and proposals to the judiciary in the ongoing process are unacceptable.” This demand casts a shadow on the diplomatic representatives’ understanding of law and democracy.

The appointed ambassadors included diplomats from Germany, the United States and France, as well as foreign representatives from Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland and New Zealand, state agency Anadolu reported.

Earlier, ambassadors had stated that “the ongoing delay in Kavala’s trial, which involves the amalgamation of various cases and the creation of new charges after his acquittal, has put a strain on respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judicial system.” cast a shadow.” They wanted a fair and quick solution.

Another arrest followed after his release

Businessman Kavala has been jailed for four years in Turkey without conviction. The 63-year-old was originally arrested in 2013 on charges of funding and organizing the Gezi protests in Istanbul that were critical of the government. In February last year, a court acquitted him of the charge.

Kavala was released from prison after two and a half years in prison, but was arrested again a few hours later – this time in connection with the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan and espionage charges.

In January this year, an appeals court overturned the first acquittal. Kavala faces a life sentence if convicted of espionage charges. Kavala’s next test is scheduled for November 26.

Council of Europe calls for release by November

Kavala sees himself as a victim of a conspiracy by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The real reason for his continued detention was “the need for the government to keep alive the fiction that the Gizi protests were the result of a foreign conspiracy,” Kavala said in a recent written interview with AFP news agency.

In September, the Council of Europe threatened Turkey with disciplinary action, citing a decision by the European Court of Human Rights if it did not release Kavala by the end of November.

Born in Paris, Kavala runs one of the largest publishing houses in Turkey and, with his organization Anadolu Kultur, advocates dialogue between ethnic groups, for example in the Kurdish conflict or with Armenians. He was one of the founders of the Turkish branch of the Open Society Foundation of American philanthropist George Soros. The Foundation promotes democratic movements in several Eastern European countries.