Open Society Foundations Urge Turkey to End Legal Farce, Release Osman Kavala
NEW YORK—On November 1, 2020, Turkish human rights defender Osman Kavala marks his third year of imprisonment in an Istanbul jail, where he faces a series of false charges concocted by the government of President Recep Erdoğan. The Open Society Foundations join global human rights advocates in calling for Osman Kavala’s immediate release.
“Over the past three years,” said Open Society Foundations President Patrick Gaspard, “the Turkish government has used the persecution of businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala to intimidate and silence human rights defenders and civil society groups across Turkey. Now, after a court acquittal on an initial set of bogus charges earlier this year, Kavala faces another equally absurd criminal indictment. The Open Society Foundations urge Turkey’s government to end this ugly legal farce now by freeing Osman Kavala, and to focus its energies instead on addressing the many real issues affecting the country’s peace and stability.”
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Press release
Open Society Foundations Call for Osman Kavala’s Release on 1000th Day of His Detention
After 1,000 days in prison, the Turkish authorities should set Osman Kavala, a leading human rights advocate, free. This case is not about justice. It’s about intimidation.
Press release
Open Society Deplores Turkey’s Failure to Release Osman Kavala
By defying a ruling from Europe’s top rights court, Turkey has demonstrated that its sham trial of human rights defender Osman Kavala and 15 others is aimed not at upholding the rule of law, but at silencing all critics.
Press release
Open Society Foundations President Denounces “Political” Trial in Turkey
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