Last Updated On: Dec 30 2020 12:09 Gmt+3
Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled to keep philanthropist and businessman Osman Kavala in pre-trial detention, rejecting claims that his rights to freedom had been violated.
The Constitutional Court’s General Assembly made the decision on Tuesday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The case is being watched closely by the European Union and human rights groups, who have called for his immediate release.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged a fresh start in relations with the EU during a meeting with Charles Michel, president of the European Council, two weeks ago. That raised hopes Kavala might be freed as part of democratic reforms Erdogan has promised.
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Download File ISTANBUL - In Turkey s predominantly Kurdish southeast, a news network staffed entirely by women is taking the lead in reporting on women s rights. But in doing so, JIN News finds itself targeted by the government s “war on terrorism.”
Founded in 2017 under the mantra On the path to truth, with a woman s pen, JIN News says its goal is to expose exploitation and violence faced by women. We are wherever women are, Gulsen Kocuk, editor of JIN News Turkish service, told VOA. We report, in a way, on every aspect of their life, with the aim of making women visible, making women s work visible, and providing a platform to express their views.
A Turkish philanthropist businessman and human rights defender has denied accusations of espionage and attempting to overthrow the government in connection with a failed coup four years ago, telling a court he opposes all efforts to take over power by force.
Osman Kavala addressed the court on Friday from his prison in the outskirts of Istanbul through a judicial video conference system during the opening hearing of a new trial against him, which human rights groups have denounced as unjust and politically motivated.
Kavala, 63, was acquitted earlier this year of “terrorism”-related charges for allegedly organising and financing mass anti-government protests that erupted in 2013.
Channel3000.com
December 18, 2020 10:32 AM By MEHMET GUZEL and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:
STR
FILE - In this April 29, 2015 file photo, Osman Kavala, a Turkish philanthropist businessman and human rights defender is photographed, in Istanbul. Kavala rejected accusations of espionage and attempting to overthrow the government in connection to a failed coup four years ago, telling a court on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 that he opposes all efforts to takeover power by force. Osman Kavala addressed the court from his prison in the outskirts of Istanbul through a judicial video conference system in the opening hearing of a new trial against him, which human rights groups have denounced as unjust and politically-motivated.
Turkish opposition party discovers trove of listening devices hidden in office lamps and sockets
Turkish party HDP suspects state-backed attempt to monitor its activities with secret listening devices
18 December 2020 • 4:40pm
HDP officials show reporters a listening device which they say they found in their Istanbul office
Credit: HDP
A Turkish opposition party says it has discovered dozens of listening devices in its offices, in what they claim is a state-backed campaign to spy on the government s rivals.
Turkey s left-wing People s Democratic Party (HDP), which supports LGBT rights, feminism and the Kurdish minority, says it found the microphones hidden in plug sockets and lamps in up to 40 Istanbul district offices.