Turkey's re-arrest of philanthropist signals alarm in Europe
Osman Kavala was re-arrested after his acquittal despite the European Court of Human Rights' call for Turkey to immediately release the philanthropist.
An Istanbul court acquitted Osman Kavala, a prominent Turkish philanthropist, on charges related to Istanbul's Gezi Park protests Feb. 18 only to have a prosecutor order his re-arrest soon after. Kavala had already spent 840 days in jail.
The decision to release Kavala was surprising, but his re-arrest came as a bigger shock, even for close observers of the trial.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence without parole for Kavala for his alleged attempts to overthrow the government by masterminding the impactful Gezi protests in 2013. According to the prosecutors, Kavala financed and orchestrated the protests.
The same Istanbul court had refused several demands for Kavala's release, including one from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
