US State Dept ‘deeply troubled’ by ‘unjust’ conviction of Turkish activist Kavala

The United States was “deeply troubled” by the conviction Monday of a leading Turkish activist, calling his life sentence on controversial charges of trying to topple the government “unjust,” the State Department said.

State Dept says the US is "deeply troubled and disappointed by court’s decision to convict Osman Kavala"/notes that "his unjust conviction is inconsistent with respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms & the rule of law"/calls on Turkey to release him in keeping with European Court of Human Rights rulings & free all others arbitrarily incarcerated. 

The US "remains gravely concerned by continued judicial harassment of civil society media-political & BSN leaders in Turkey" through pretrial detention broad terrorism claims criminal insult cases.

A leading figure in Turkey’s civil society, 64-year-old Kavala was accused of financing protests against then-prime minister Erdogan’s government during large-scale protests in 2013 and involvement in a failed military coup in 2016. Monday’s ruling only covered the case stemming from the 2013 unrest.