The Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala has been sentenced to life in prison by a court in Istanbul. His crime? “Attempting to overthrow the government.”
Back in 2013, a park in Istanbul was set to be turned into a mall. Nearby residents did not want this to happen so they came out to protest. The protests soon swelled into larger, broader anti-government demonstrations. Kavala was arrested in 2017 on charges related to what became known as the Gezi Park protests. He was acquitted in 2020, but the verdict was overturned. (Fresh charges were also brought for alleged involvement in the 2016 coup attempt; he was charged with both counts at the trial.)
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