Osman Kavala (born 2 October 1957) is a businessman, activist and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

who has supported numerous civil society organizations in Turkey since the early 1990s. Kavala is the founder and chair of the board of Anadolu Kültür, an Istanbul-based

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

arts and culture organization. In 2019, he received the European Archaeological Heritage Prize from the

European Association of Archaeologists The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is a membership-based, not-for-profit association, open to archaeologists and other related or interested individuals or bodies in Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1994 at an inaugural meeting in ...

for his efforts to protect and preserve significant examples of cultural heritage in danger in Turkey and the Ayşenur Zarakolu Freedom of Thought and Expression Award by

Human Rights Association The Human Rights Association ( tr, İnsan Hakları Derneği, İHD) is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara. Establishment The İHD's origins can be traced to the victims of the purges in the ...

's Istanbul branch. His arrests in Turkey caused the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

and ambassadors from ten Western countries to demand his release. These demands were rejected by Turkish courts and president Erdoğan. On 25 April 2022, a court sentenced him to life in prison.

Early life and education

Kavala comes from a family of tobacco traders. His family moved from Northern Greece to Turkey in the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Kavala was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1957 He attended

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

in Istanbul. Kavala studied management at the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and economics at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

in the United Kingdom, subsequently enrolling in PhD program at

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

but returning to Istanbul upon his father's death in 1982. After his father's death, he took over the family-owned enterprise ''Kavala Companies''.

Publishing activities

Starting with the early 1980s, Kavala has contributed to the establishment of several publishing companies in Turkey. Following the coup d'état in 1980, in 1983, he co-founded the publishing house

İletişim Yayınları İletişim Yayınları (English: ''Contact Publications'') is an independent publishing company based in Istanbul, Turkey. It has published authors including Orhan Pamuk, Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Cemil Meriç, Şerif Mardin, and Mehmet Murat ...

. In 1985, he co-founded Ana Publishing with Nazar Büyüm and Selahattin Beyazıt, which published '' AnaBritannica'' (the Turkish version of

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

), ''Britannica Compton’s'', and ''Temel Britannica.'' Kavala is currently a member of the board of directors a
Aras Publishing
In the acknowledgements of his 2018 book '' Talaat Pasha: Father of Modern Turkey, Architect of Genocide'', historian

Hans-Lukas Kieser Hans-Lukas Kieser (born 1957) is a Swiss historian of the late Ottoman Empire and Turkey, Professor of modern history at the University of Zurich and president of the Research Foundation Switzerland-Turkey in Basel. He is an author of books and ar ...

states that Kavala's assistance was "critical to my successfully starting the research".

Civil society activities

Since the 1990s, Kavala has contributed to numerous civil society organizations in Turkey. In 1984, he co-founded BILSAK (Science Art Culture Services Society), which promoted discussions around gender and ecology. He contributed to the establishment of several NGOs that started in the 1990s. These include

TEMA Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populo ...

(Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats),

Helsinki Citizens' Assembly The Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa) is an organization of citizens dedicated to peace, democracy and human rights in Europe. It is a non-governmental organization, working on the notions of fundamental rights and freedoms, peace, democracy and pl ...

, an
Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe
He has been part of the board of directors of Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audio-visual Culture (TÜRSAK)
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation
(TESEV)
Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage
(KMKD)
Truth Justice Memory Center
an
History Foundation of Turkey
Kavala is also known to be a sponsor of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. He actively participated in the development of
Spaces of Culture
', a project set out to promote and support cultural activities Izmir,

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

and

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

. The project is initiated by

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

, th
Consulate General of Sweden
in Istanbul, th
Embassy of the Netherlands
and th
Institut francais de Turquie
in cooperation wit
Anadolu Kültür
and

Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts ( tr, İstanbul Kültür Sanat Vakfı, İKSV) is a non-profit foundation, based in Turkey. It was founded in 1973 by seventeen businesspeople and art enthusiasts led by Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı The g ...

(IKSV). Since 2002, he has spent much time working for the charitable foundation Anadolu Kültür'','' of which he is the founder and current chair. Anadolu Kültür runs cultural centers in underdeveloped regions of Turkey and fosters cultural cooperation with countries in the Caucasus and Balkan regions as well as those in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The organization supports local, regional, and international collaborations in arts and culture, and promotes for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Its vision is to contribute to a pluralist and democratic society. Its initiatives includ
Diyarbakir Arts Center
(2002–ongoing)
Kars Arts Center
(2005–2009), an
Depo
in Istanbul—hosting exhibitions, talks, screenings, and workshops. Kavala was a founding member of the

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...

in Turkey, an international

grantmaking A grant is a fund given by an end entity grant – often a public body, charitable foundation, or a specialised grant-making institution – to an individual or another entity (usually, a non-profit organisation, sometimes a business or a local ...

network created by the American-Hungarian billionaire

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

. In 2018, the Foundation ceased all its activities in Turkey. In a conversation with journalist Şirin Payzın, Kavala said that he "respected Soros" and that "our views overlap on issues such as the proper functioning of legal institutions, the protection and extension of civil rights, the support of civil society organizations and rights defenders, and immigration policies." He added that his "views on egalitarian policies in the social and economic fields are different" and that he has been critical of some of the activities of the Foundation in some countries. President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer * Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...

singled Kavala out for criticism, saying “The connections of the person they call the ‘red Soros of Turkey’ are coming to light”, and accused Kavala of being responsible for the

Gezi Park protests A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park prote ...

of 2013, and of the "transfer of significant funds to certain places". In an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...

published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Kavala states: "It seems I was cast in this narrative because I was a board member of the Open Society Foundation in Turkey and because of my open—though not financial—support of the campaign to protect Gezi Park.

Peace talks between PKK and Turkish Government

In 2013, Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

initiated the

peace talks A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...

to end

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

between Turkey and the

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

. As part of the peace process, members of BDP went to

İmralı İmralı is a small Turkish prison island in the south of the Sea of Marmara, west of the Armutlu-Bozburun peninsula within Bursa Province. It measures in the north–south direction with a width of , and has an area of . The highest peak is ...

island to convey messages between both parties (Erdogan and Abdullah Öcalan). Daily

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

got hold of the minutes of the meeting (''İmralı Zabıtları'') and published a story about it. In these minutes, the name of Kavala came up. According to the minutes published by Milliyet, the following line was uttered by BDP's

Sırrı Süreyya Önder Sırrı Süreyya Önder (born 7 July 1962) is a Turkish film director, actor, screenwriter, columnist and politician. Elected to parliament in 2011 as an independent backed by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), he later joined the party even ...

: "Sir �calan we have discussed everything. There is also the issue of

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

. It is a delicate matter among the public. Osman Kavala sends his regards to you. They are worried that that the presidential system will change into a totalitarian system." The power and involvement of Kavala as a third party in this decades-long conflict between the state and PKK was met with suspicion by some commentators.

Arrest and court case

On 18 October 2017 Osman Kavala was detained at the

Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

after his visit to Gaziantep for a joint project with Goethe Institute. On 25 October 2017, the newspaper '' Daily Sabah'', close to the Erdoğan government, accused him of being a "business tycoon with a shady background" and having contacts with the "Gülenist Terror Group" ( FETÖ). On 1 November 2017, he was arrested on both Article 309 and Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code. Article 309 (“attempts to abolish, replace or prevent the implementation of, through force and violence, the constitutional order of the republic of Turkey”) was related to an investigation on the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

, and Article 312 (“the use of force and violence, to abolish the government of the Republic of Turkey or to prevent it, in part or in full, from fulfilling its duties”) was related to an investigation on

. Related to Article 312 or the Gezi Park Trial as it is referred to in the press, a criminal indictment seeking life imprisonment for Kavala and 15 other people, including journalist Can Dündar and actor

Memet Ali Alabora Memet Ali Alabora (born 25 November 1977) is a Turkish film and theatre actor. He is the son of actors Mustafa Alabora and Betül Arım. Biography The eldest child of a family of artists, Alabora's first performing experiences were in the play ...

, was accepted on 4 March 2019 by the Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court. The indictment accuses the defendants of forming the mastermind behind the scenes of the

, which is characterized as an "attempt to overthrow the government through violence" in this document. The indictment also alleges that philanthropist

was behind the conspiracy. The trial was to begin on the 24 June 2019. The verdict in the so-called Gezi Trial was only delivered on the 18 February 2020, when Kavala was acquitted. On 18 February 2020, hours after his acquittal on Article 312, the chief prosecutor of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

demanded the continued detention of Kavala due to Article 309, although Istanbul prosecutor's office had ordered him released on a pre-trial release judgment on Article 309 on 11 October 2019. On 19 February 2020, he was arrested once again for Article 309. He was acquitted from Article 309 on 20 March 2020. On 9 March 2020, Kavala was arrested on Article 328 (“securing information that, due to its nature, must be kept confidential for reasons relating to the security or domestic or foreign political interests of the State, for the purpose of political or military espionage”). This arrest happened only one day before the ruling of the

about Kavala's pretrial detention demanding his release became final on 10 March. Osman Kavala has been in

Silivri Prison Marmara Prison ( tr, Marmara Cezaevi) or officially Marmara Penitentiaries Campus ( tr, Marmara Ceza İnfaz Kurumları Kampüsü) formerly Silivri Prison is a high-security state correctional institution complex in the Silivri district of Ista ...

since 1 November 2017. After the court ruling on 20 March he has been arrested 3 times, and acquitted 2 times from the same crime related to Article 309.

International reaction

German politician

Daniel Cohn-Bendit Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (; ; born 4 April 1945) is a French-German politician of Jewish descent. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and was also known during that time as ''Dany le Rouge'' (French for "Danny the Red" ...

, in a public letter to Osman Kavala on 29 March 2018, wrote, "I try to understand the reason behind your arrest, but I cannot apprehend it. (...) It is difficult to conceive the reason behind it. (...) I am convinced that democracy will triumph, and we will soon be able to toast to our common future by the Bosporus. I am waiting for you in Frankfurt".

about Kavala's pretrial detention became final on 10 March. This ruling stated that there was no sufficient evidence to support the accusations against Kavala and that “the prosecution’s attitude could be considered such as to confirm the applicant’s assertion that the measures taken against him pursued an ulterior purpose, namely to reduce him to silence as an NGO activist and human-rights defender, to dissuade other persons from engaging in such activities and to paralyse civil society in the country.” It also requested that the Turkish Government “take every measure to put an end to the applicant’s detention and to secure his immediate release.”

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

Executive Director

Kenneth Roth Kenneth Roth (born September 23, 1955) is an American attorney, human rights activist, writer. He was the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022. Early life Kenneth Roth was born on September 23, 1955 in Elmhurst, Illino ...

stated that "The immediate re-arrest of Osman Kavala in another bogus investigation after his acquittal on trumped-up charges for the

shows how Turkey’s criminal justice system is politically manipulated, with detention and prosecutions pursued at the political whim of the president." After the decision released by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ on 3 September 2020, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ),

, and the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project demanded that Turkish authorities release Kavala immediately. In September 2021, the

Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (French: ''Comité des ministres du Conseil de l'Europe'') or Committee of Ministers (French: ''Comité des ministres'') is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It comprises the Foreign ...

gave Turkey until December 2021 to release Kavala before beginning infringement proceedings against Turkey. On 3 December 2021 Council of Europe (COE) says it will notify Turkey of its intention to launch "infringement proceedings" against the country over its failure to release philanthropist Osman Kavala. On 23 October 2021, the demand for Kavala's release was supported by ten embassies (

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

), whose ambassadors were subsequently declared "

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

" in a statement by president Erdoğan. On 25 October, Erdogan backtracked on his initial threats to expel the ten ambassadors, stating that the diplomats had fulfilled their commitment to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention and that they would "be more careful in their statements." British human rights activist and journalist, William Nicholas Gomes wrote to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to immediately and unconditionally release Osman Kavala. William Nicholas Gomes had sent this request via the Turkish Embassy in London, United Kingdom.

Personal life

Kavala married

Ayşe Buğra Ayşe Buğra (born 1951) is a Turkish social scientist, currently professor of Political Economy at thAtatürk Institute for Modern Turkish Historyand the co-founder of thof Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. She is a recipient of the TWAS Prize fo ...

in 1988. Buğra is professor of political economy at the Ataturk Institute of Modern Turkish History of

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...

in Istanbul.

References

External links

osmankavala.org
(English) * nytimes.com, 3 November 2017 / Dani Rodrik

(

Opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

) * openDemocracy.org, 3 November 2017 / Anthony Barnett
''Osman Kavala, Turkish democracy on the anvil''
* FAZ.net, 19 October 2017 / Karen Krüger

*

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (FR) is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition (see link below) as well as an e-pa ...

, 20 October 2017 / Frank Nordhausen
„Osman Kavala. Der ‚rote Soros‘“

Statement by Osman Kavala at the 6th hearing of Gezi Trial, 18 February 2020

Statement by Osman Kavala at the 5th hearing of the Gezi Trial, 28 January 2020

Video interview with the Defense Counsel of Osman Kavala, Attorney Ilkan Koyuncu: The Acquittal Verdict and its Aftermath (with English subtitles)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavala, Osman 1957 births Living people Businesspeople from Istanbul Patrons of the arts Robert College alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester Prisoners and detainees of Turkey Inmates of Silivri Prison Political prisoners Turkish philanthropists People from Paris