Turkish Opposition Vows to Overturn Sentence Against Kavala

Date: 27 April 2022 - 22:17

News ID: ۱۰۲۰۸۱

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish opposition leaders vowed to overturn jail sentences against philanthropist Osman Kavala and seven others convicted at the end of a case that lawyers said showed courts had become the government’s “vehicle for revenge.” Kavala was sentenced to life in prison without parole, while seven others got 18 years based on claims they organized and financed nationwide protests in 2013, charges from which they were acquitted two years ago. The verdict was seen as symbolic of a crackdown on dissent under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the punishment of the government’s perceived foes through the use of the judiciary.