Turkey Court Extends Detention of Top Activist Osman Kavala

Turkish activist Osman Kavala has been held without conviction since October 2017 Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP
Turkish activist Osman Kavala has been held without conviction since October 2017 Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP
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Turkey Court Extends Detention of Top Activist Osman Kavala

Turkish activist Osman Kavala has been held without conviction since October 2017 Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP
Turkish activist Osman Kavala has been held without conviction since October 2017 Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP

A Turkish court ordered leading activist Osman Kavala to remain in prison Monday, amid fresh calls for his release in the high-profile case that has drawn widespread rebuke.

The 64-year-old philanthropist has been held without conviction since October 2017, accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in a coup plot against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called for Kavala's release, which Turkey has refused to comply with.

This month, the Council of Europe (COE) launched disciplinary action over Turkey's failure to free him.

A three-judge panel on Monday refused to release Kavala and set the next hearing for March 21.

Kavala did not appear in court, and his lawyers questioned the tribunal's impartiality.

"Kavala is not being tried in this tribunal, but in political party meetings," defense lawyer Tolga Aytore told the court.

Western diplomats, including from France and Germany, attended the hearing on Monday, according to an AFP reporter.

The COE ruled this month that Turkey had failed to comply with a 2019 ruling by the ECHR to release Kavala.

Under the rules of the Strasbourg-based COE, the case has been referred back to the ECHR, which will examine if Turkey has complied with its 2019 ruling.

Turkey has been a member of the COE since 1950 and is party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

It denounced the COE's decision as "interference" in domestic court proceedings.

The COE's verdict could prompt action against Ankara from the committee of ministers, including suspension of Turkey's voting rights or even expulsion from the body.

Ahead of the hearing on Monday, the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur slammed Ankara for its apparent refusal to comply with the ruling.

"It's not easy to understand what the rationale is of the Turkish authorities, simply not complying with the court ruling," Nacho Sanchez Amor told AFP.

"This is not about any kind of interfering from abroad, this is about the Turkish constitution, the European Court of Human Rights is part of the judiciary system of Turkey."

He added that Turkey's refusal to comply with the court ruling would "damage the image of the country".

Erdogan has repeatedly accused Kavala of being an agent of George Soros, a billionaire financier and pro-democracy campaigner.

Kavala's supporters view his plight as a symbol of the purges Erdogan unleashed after the coup attempt, and his case has become a growing irritant on Turkey's complex ties with the West.

Government critics say Turkey's standoff with the COE underscores the profound erosion of human rights under Erdogan's two-decade rule.



Death Toll in Pakistan Building Collapse Rises to 27

Rescue workers recover a victim's body during a search operation amidst the debris of a collapsed building in Karachi on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP)
Rescue workers recover a victim's body during a search operation amidst the debris of a collapsed building in Karachi on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP)
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Death Toll in Pakistan Building Collapse Rises to 27

Rescue workers recover a victim's body during a search operation amidst the debris of a collapsed building in Karachi on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP)
Rescue workers recover a victim's body during a search operation amidst the debris of a collapsed building in Karachi on July 5, 2025. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP)

Rescue teams were in the final stages of clearing the wreckage of a five-story building that collapsed in Pakistan's mega city of Karachi killing 27 people, officials said Sunday.

Residents reported hearing cracking sounds shortly before the apartment block crumbled around 10:00 am on Friday in Karachi's impoverished Lyari neighborhood, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.

"Most of the debris has been removed," Hassaan Khan, a spokesman for government rescue service 1122 told AFP, adding that the death toll stood at 27 on Sunday morning.

He expected the operation to finish by the afternoon.

Authorities said the building had been declared unsafe and eviction notices were sent to occupants between 2022 and 2024, but landlords and some residents told AFP they had not received them.

"My daughter is under the rubble," 54-year-old Dev Raj told AFP at the scene on Saturday.

"She was my beloved daughter. She was so sensitive but is under the burden of debris. She got married just six months ago."

Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.

But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.