We’ve lost our hope for democracy, peace and the rule of law: Wife of arrested activist Osman Kavala

ISTANBUL

Professor Ayşe Buğra, the wife of Turkish businessman and activist Osman Kavala, has said they have “lost hope for democracy, peace and the rule of law,” after Kavala’s recent arrest.

An Istanbul court on Nov. 1 ruled for Kavala’s arrest as part of the investigation into the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and the December 2013 corruption probes targeting senior government figures.

He has been controversially charged with “attempting to abolish the constitutional order” and “attempting to remove the government of the Turkish Republic.” The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also accuses Kavala of being among the “managers and organizers” of the 2013 anti-government Gezi Park protests.

In a statement on her husband’s arrest, Buğra blasted the “perception management being carried out against Osman Kavala by certain print and visual media outlets in relation to his detention.”

“[The ruling is worrying because] the reports of interception of communication and physical surveillance” pertain to the period when [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] FETÖ/PDY member state officials were still on duty,” Buğra said

“The charges claim that Osman Kavala was involved in the attempted coup along with members of an organization that collected evidence leading to Kavala’s arrest. Beyond being simply unlawful, this is tragicomic,” she added.

“It is suspicious that he is arrested today on these grounds even though actions, monetary transactions and evidence for how he financed and orchestrated the Gezi protests cannot be revealed. He has also not been subjected to any investigations or charges since that time,” Buğra said.

“With the arrest decision we have not only lost Osman Kavala’s freedom, but also lost our hope for democracy, peace and the rule of law,” she added.

Meanwhile, technology journalist M. Serdar Kuzuloğlu, who had been detained as part of an investigation into the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), was released late on Nov. 1.

Kuzuloğlu was among six people detained on Nov. 1 in relation to operations against the Gülen network in six provinces across the country.

It was revealed that he was detained following the testimony of a confessor who was previously detained as a part of an anti-Gülen investigation in the western province of İzmir and released due to the effective remorse law.

Kuzuloğlu was released hours after testifying to the police upon the instruction of a prosecutor.