Turkey has been criticized by many international organizations including Human Rights Watch for aiming at silencing civil society activities. Recently Turkey put Osman Kavala (a prominent philanthropist who founded an organization that focuses on cultural and artistic projects for peace and dialogue) and 15 others on trial, accusing them of organizing anti-government protests in 2013. The trial took place in a prison complex, outskirt of Istanbul. Rights groups described the charges as baseless, saying that Turkish government is aiming at silencing civil society activities. Our correspondent in Istanbul reported that the prosecutor claimed that Osman Kavala and 15 others attempted to overthrow the government of then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, through organizing and financing an uprising. The charge carries a life sentence.
In 2013, peaceful protests began to protect the small Gezi Park in central Istanbul from development but the protest suddenly turned into wider anti-government demonstrations across Turkey. Osman Kavala (arrested in November 2017) has been in detention for 20 months, while Yigit Aksakoglu (who works for an early childhood education foundation) was detained for eight months. Six defendants including Can Dundar (a journalist) and Memet Ali Alabora (an actor) are in abroad.
Source: Viewers Corner News.