عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Turkish Court Combines Two Cases against Jailed Philanthropist Kavala

Philanthropist Osman Kavala has been detained more than three years without conviction. (AFP)
Philanthropist Osman Kavala has been detained more than three years without conviction. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Turkish Court Combines Two Cases against Jailed Philanthropist Kavala

Philanthropist Osman Kavala has been detained more than three years without conviction. (AFP)
Philanthropist Osman Kavala has been detained more than three years without conviction. (AFP)

A Turkish court on Friday ruled to combine the two cases against philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has been detained more than three years without conviction, after an appeals court overturned his acquittal in one of them.

Immediately after he and eight others were acquitted last February in a case related to nationwide Gezi Park protests in 2013, Kavala was ordered jailed pending trial over charges related to a 2016 coup attempt. The acquittal verdict was also appealed.

Last month, the appeals court ruled to overturn the Gezi-related verdicts because some evidence was excluded and that it should be joined with the other case against Kavala.

On Friday, the court handling the coup-related case agreed to the combination and rejected Kavala's request to be released, extending his detention since late 2017 by nearly four months.

Kavala is accused of espionage and attempting to overthrow the constitutional order in the coup-related case. He denies all charges.

"The prosecution seeks to create a certain perception by blending a number of conspiracy theories and accusations as if they were proving one another," Kavala told the court, adding the accusations were baseless.

The overturning of the Gezi ruling will allow the "extension of the espionage charges which are collapsing" as well as the duration of his detention, Kavala, 63, said.

Critics say Turkey's judiciary has been exploited to punish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's perceived opponents and that Kavala's case is symbolic of a crackdown on dissent. The president and his ruling AK Party say the courts are independent.

The European Court of Human Rights called for Kavala's release in late 2019, saying his detention aimed to silence him. The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers have repeatedly called on Turkey to implement the ruling.

Kavala's lawyer Tolga Aytore told the court none of the witnesses had any information supporting the accusations.

"Whenever the prosecution process gets to a stage where (Kavala's) release is possible, we face something else. It is very upsetting that our justice system is getting used to this," he said.

Some of the defendants in the Gezi trial were also acquitted in a previous case, meaning they will be tried for a third time over the 2013 protests. The first hearing in the retrial is scheduled for May 21.

Most Viewed

 
World

France, UK and Germany Would Restore UN Sanctions on Iran Next Month without Progress on a Deal

The United Nations flag flies on a stormy day at the UN during the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
The United Nations flag flies on a stormy day at the UN during the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
TT
20
TT

France, UK and Germany Would Restore UN Sanctions on Iran Next Month without Progress on a Deal

The United Nations flag flies on a stormy day at the UN during the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
The United Nations flag flies on a stormy day at the UN during the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

The United Kingdom, France and Germany have agreed to restore tough UN sanctions on Iran by the end of August if there has been no concrete progress on a nuclear deal, two European diplomats said Tuesday.

The three countries' ambassadors to the United Nations met Tuesday at Germany’s UN Mission to discuss a possible Iranian deal and reimposing the sanctions. The matter also came up in a phone call Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of the three countries, according to two US officials.

The State Department said after the call that the four had spoken about “ensuring Iran does not develop or obtain a nuclear weapon.”

The officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The UK, France and Germany are part of an agreement reached with Iran in 2015 to rein in its nuclear program, from which President Donald Trump withdrew the US during his first term, insisting it wasn’t tough enough.

Under the accord that lifted economic penalties on Iran in exchange for restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program, a so-called “snapback” provision allows one of the Western parties to reimpose UN sanctions if Tehran does not comply with its requirements.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters in Brussels Tuesday that the three European countries would be justified in reapplying sanctions.

“Without a firm, tangible, and verifiable commitment from Iran, we will do so by the end of August at the latest,” Barrot said, according to Reuters. One of the diplomats confirmed his comments to The Associated Press.

The diplomats did not provide details of the deal being sought. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in recent days that Tehran would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks, following Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

He said there should be “a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated, stressing that “the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution."

The United States and Iran held several rounds of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program before the Israeli strikes began in June. Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said last week that talks would happen soon, but nothing has yet been scheduled.

Araghchi, whose country insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, said in a July 2 CBS interview that “the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”

Iran's UN Mission had no comment Tuesday on the threat of renewed sanctions if there is no deal.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said last week that the US airstrikes so badly damaged his country’s nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction. Iran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA.