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Turkey Rejects US Call for Release of Rights Leader

FILE PHOTO: A general view of residential and commercial areas in Ankara, Turkey, April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of residential and commercial areas in Ankara, Turkey, April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Turkey Rejects US Call for Release of Rights Leader

FILE PHOTO: A general view of residential and commercial areas in Ankara, Turkey, April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of residential and commercial areas in Ankara, Turkey, April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Turkey on Thursday rejected a US call to release jailed civil society leader Osman Kavala, accusing Washington of interference.

Kavala, a businessman and philanthropist who has been imprisoned for more than three years without a conviction, is being tried on charges related to a 2016 coup attempt and 2013 protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The 63-year-old was acquitted in a case related to the 2013 protests last February.

He was then immediately rearrested and charged with the 2016 coup plot. A Turkish court last month also overturned his earlier acquittal and a judge last week combined the two cases into one.

The US State Department on Wednesday called the charges against Kavala "specious" and demanded his "immediate release".

The Turkish foreign ministry fired back at Washington by demanding that it "respect" the independence of its courts.

"Turkey is a state governed by the rule of law," the ministry said in a statement. "No country or person can give orders to Turkish courts."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Senate confirmation hearing last month that Turkey "is not acting as an ally should" and represented "a very significant challenge".

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At Least 7 Dead in Georgia Dock Collapse on US Atlantic Coast

FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
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At Least 7 Dead in Georgia Dock Collapse on US Atlantic Coast

FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

At least seven people were killed after part of a boat dock collapsed, sending at least 20 into the Atlantic waters off the coast of the US state of Georgia.
US Coast Guard ships were searching on Saturday night for missing people.
The accident, which also caused multiple injuries, happened during a celebration of Sapelo Island's tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants, authorities said.
A gangway crowded with people waiting for a ferryboat collapsed late on Saturday afternoon on the Georgia barrier island about 60 miles (100 km) south of Savannah, said Tyler Jones, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which runs the ferry.
"We and multiple agencies are searching for survivors," Jones said.

President Joe Biden said federal officials were ready to provide any assistance needed.

“What should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture and history instead turned into tragedy and devastation,” Biden said in a statement. “Jill and I mourn those who lost their lives, and we pray for the injured and anyone still missing. We are also grateful to the first responders at the scene.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, in the state capital Atlanta for campaign events, also issued a statement, saying the Biden administration was in close touch with state and local officials and had offered any federal support needed.
"Tonight, Doug and I are praying for all those who were killed or injured in the collapse of the ferry dock walkway on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, as well as their family members and loved ones," Harris said, referring to her husband, Doug Emhoff.
"Even in the face of this heartbreak, we will continue to celebrate and honor the history, culture, and resilience of the Gullah-Geechee community," she added.
Coast Guard helicopters and boats equipped with sonar immediately began search-and-rescue operations, officials said. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
Sapelo Island is only reachable by boat, and the state-run ferry takes about 20 minutes to reach its shores.
People were marking Cultural Day, an annual festival celebrating the island's historic Black community, one of several surviving island communities from Georgia to North Carolina.