WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2020) The United States is calling on Turkey to free prominent businessman and human rights activist Osman Kavala, US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Cale Brown said in a readout of the call on Monday.
"As of this week, Turkish philanthropist and civil society leader Osman Kavala has spent 1,000 days in detention without being convicted of any crime. The United States underscores the importance of respecting international obligations and commitments," Brown said. "We call upon Turkey to comply with its own commitment to justice and rule of law and to release Osman Kavala from detention, while pursuing a just, transparent, and speedy resolution to his case."
In February, a Turkish disciplinary body that prosecutes judges reportedly opened an investigation on Kavala's repealed acquittal over the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
The Council of Judges and Prosecutors, established a year after the 2016 unsuccessful coup, is investigating the judges who freed Kavala and eight others, the Anadolu news agency said then.
Kavala was rearrested just hours after the court ordered his immediate release. The warrant by the Istanbul prosecutor's office was related to his alleged role in the attempt to overthrow the government.
The Turkish authorities blame both the 2016 failed coup and the Gezi Park protests on US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen who, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, has sought to depose him.
Rallies against the plan to redevelop the park in central Istanbul led to nationwide protests against the government of then-Prime Minister Erdogan.
Kavala has spent more than two years in prison on terror-related charges and his arrest over a new case has triggered an international outcry.
