Jailed Turkish civil society leader Osman Kavala was awarded the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent on Monday, October 9, 2023.
The Council of Europe gave its top human rights award to a Turkish philanthropist named Osman Kavala. He’s been in jail, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been critical of him.
Kavala, who is 66 years old, has been accused of different things over time. These accusations include spying, supporting protests in 2013, and being involved in a coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016. He was arrested in October 2017 and got a life sentence in 2002 for allegedly trying to overthrow Erdogan’s government.
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has many times asked for Osman Kavala to be set free, following the European Court of Human Rights’ decisions. Turkey has not followed these legal rulings and has kept him in custody. This made the case go back to the European Court, which started unusual legal actions to confirm that Turkey was not following the rules.
Two other people who work for human rights were also considered for the award: Yevgeniy Zakharov from Ukraine and Justyna Wydrzynska from Poland. Amnesty International has been supporting Justyna Wydrzynska’s cause for several years.
- inputs from AFP
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