Kavala: I Wait for My Indictment to Show Allegations are Groundless

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Anadolu Kültür Executive Board Chair, rights advocate and businessperson Osman Kavala, who has been behind bars in Silivri Prison for more than a year without an indictment, has sent a message from prison.

In his message, which has been published on the website established in solidarity with Kavala, he has denounced the operation which was launched against Anadolu Kültür on charges related with the organization and financing of Gezi Park protests in 2013.

CLICK - Statement by Security Directorate About Detention of Academics and Civil Society

Osman Kavala has made the following statement:

"I feel so sorry that 14 people, among whom were also academics, were taken into custody in relation with me and, within this context, some groundless allegations were brought against me.

CLICK - Operation Against Civil Society and Academics

"I am waiting for the issuance of my indictment as soon as possible so that I can show that the charges of attempting to change the Constitutional order and overthrow the government, which have been cited as the reason for my over one-year-long detention, and the allegations of being the director and financier of Gezi incidents are groundless and baseless.

"I hope that this lawsuit will contribute to a change in the current understanding of arrest in Turkey, which does not value human freedom."

What happened?

Anadolu Kültür Executive Board Chair, human rights advocate and businessperson Osman Kavala was taken into custody in the evening hours on October 18 at İstanbul Atatürk Airport upon his return from a meeting of a project planned to be realized in cooperation with Goethe Institute in Antep.

He was targeted by some pro-government newspapers following his detention.

Speaking at the weekly group meeting of his party, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to Kavala as the "Soros of Turkey", mentioning his name and said:

"Some try to deflect the truth by means of praises attributed to him such as 'He was a good citizen, a media member, an NGO representative'. The identity of this figure called 'Soros of Turkey' has been uncovered. That was his name that came up in Consulate General [investigation]. All connections have surfaced. And there is the same person behind the incidents in Taksim. You see those people again behind funds transfer to certain places. Who are you trying to fool?"

His detention also sparked criticism on international level.

US thinker and professor in linguistics, Noam Chomsky, United States Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert and European Parliament Rapporteur for Turkey Kati Piri denounced Kavala's detention and demanded that he be released immediately.

On October 31, a group of 35 academics, writers and researchers coming together under the guidance of the European Network on Political Group Analysis Jean-François Bayart, addressed an open letter to President Erdoğan for Kavala's release.

About Osman Kavala

Kavala was born in Paris in 1957. He graduated from Department of Economy at Manchester University.

He has been working as executive at Kavala Group since 1982.

He participated in the foundation of Turkey's one of the most prominent publishing houses, İletişim Publications, with Murat Belge.

He served as member of administrative boards of business institutions and NGOs such as Turkey-Poland Business Council, Turkey-Greece Business Council, and Center for Democracy in Southeast Europe.

Kavala is a member of Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) Administrative Board, Open Society Institute Consulting Board, and supporter of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, History Foundation and Diyarbakır Culture House.

(EMK/SD)