Istanbul court rejects Kavala's plea for new trial

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court has once again denied jailed businessman Osman Kavala's plea for a new trial, maintaining his life sentence in the case related to the 2013 Gezi Park protests.

The decision, reached unanimously by the 13th High Criminal Court in Istanbul on May 15, marks the third rejection of Kavala's request for a retrial.

Kavala, who has been behind bars for over 2,300 days, was convicted in April 2022 for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government by funding street demonstrations.

Alongside him, seven others were jailed for 18 years each for aiding the attempt to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the prime minister back then, during the rallies.

Although the panel overseeing the case was changed as a result of Kavala's latest plea initiated by his lawyer on April 30, the outcome remained unchanged, leaving him with the option to appeal the ruling.

The rejection of Kavala's plea comes amid ongoing discussions about the Gezi Park case, with recent talks between Erdoğan and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel touching upon the matter.

In a statement, Kavala underscored the importance of retrials in cases involving human rights violations, emphasizing the "necessity of upholding fundamental legal principles and respecting human rights."

Kavala's application for a retrial is grounded in the objections raised by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding his detention.

He was first charged with funding the wave of 2013 protests. A court acquitted and released him in February 2020, only for the police to arrest him before he had a chance to return home to his wife.

Another court then accused him of being involved in a failed 2016 coup attempt in which more than 250 died in Istanbul and Ankara. Kavala ultimately ended up facing both sets of charges.

The court ultimately convicted the philanthropist of the same set of charges he had been cleared of in 2020.