Turkish court sentences Osman Kavala to life in prison

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court April 25 sentenced Osman Kavala- a Turkish businessman who is accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in the 2016 coup attempt- to life in jail.

The panel of three judges also sentenced seven other less prominent defendants to 18 years in jail each on charges of aiding the attempt to topple the government.

Kavala was first arrested on criminal charges related to the 2013 Gezi protests when small protests in Istanbul spread into nationwide demonstrations, leaving eight protesters and a police officer dead.

He was briefly released earlier last year but later remanded into custody as part of a probe into the 2016 defeated coup, with prosecutors accusing him of spying.