Turkey puts philanthropist Osman Kavala on trial

Osman Kavala, leader of Turkish civil society, appeared in court in Istanbul on Friday accused of going against Turkish doctrine. Accused by a part of the government that tries to suppress dissent, he has been tried for a failed coup attempt in 2016. A pawn in a political game, Kavala is now in the maximum security prison outside Istanbul, Silivri.

Kavala is known for promoting human rights through art, and is a 63-year-old businessman and philanthropist. He has been imprisoned for more than three years in Turkey, touching many members of civil society groups, who asked Turkey for his release as he had not been convicted of any crime. Several human rights organisations from around the world have criticised his arrest and called for his release.

Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch notes that Osman had always seen the value of citizens actively participating in peaceful civic initiatives. She points out that these are good for the public good, not just for the good of one part of society. He claims that Osman Kavala would never take part in a coup d'état.

Kavala has supported artistic and social projects trying to unite the divided Turkish society. He is the director of the civil organisation Anadolu Kultur in Turkey promoting human rights through art. He was also a founding member of the Open Society Foundation of the philanthropist George Soros in Turkey.

He was accused of trying to overthrow the Turkish government during the protests at Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013. On May 27 of that year, a group of activists organised a sit-in in Gezi to protest against the demolition of the park. The ongoing project was going to turn the area into a commercial area. After they were evicted the next day, more and more activists joined in. The tension exploded on May 31, and the reason for the protests grew, now they were demonstrating against the police violence and Erdogan.

A few hours after his acquittal, he was arrested again because he was linked with an alleged coup d'état to end the government of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

This is not the first or the last case of the Turkish president's persecution of opponents. After the coup, the Turkish government has fought against the opposition by carrying out a massive repression. Police officers, teachers, judges and civil servants lost their jobs because of suspicions and accusations of belonging to the movement of the opponent Fethullah Gülen. Many were arrested and detained.

In 2016 Gülen's movement was officially designated as a terrorist group since cleric Fethullah Gülen is believed to be the mastermind of the 2016 coup.

In September, the Turkish police arrested 33 people accused of having links with Gülen. In addition, 42 military academy students and 54 naval officers were arrested in the summer on charges of belonging to Gülen's movement. The latter allegedly passed the tests to reach the post with the help of the clergyman.