An Istanbul court has acquitted prominent philanthropist Osman Kavala and eight defendants in the 2013 Gezi Park case, but in a counter move, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor has ordered Kavala’s continued detention stemming from a separate case pertaining to his supposed involvement in the failed 2016 coup attempt.
Court acquits nine defendants, including Kavala, in Gezi trial
Earlier in the day, the Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court acquitted nine of the 16 suspects, including Kavala, in the case into the Gezi Park protests of 2013.
The case of seven defendants – Can Dündar, Mehmet Ali Alabora, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Gökçe Yılmaz Handan, Handan Meltem Arıkan, İnanç Ekmekçi and Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu – who are abroad and were being tried in absentia, was separated but arrest warrants for them were lifted.
While removing the arrest warrants made against Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Gökçe Tuyluoglu, Handan Meltem Arikan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoglu, Inanc Ekmekci and Mehmet Ali Alabora, it was decided to issue a separate arrest warrant for their statements.