Kavala sends '7th year' message from Silivri: 'I believe I will truly be able to breathe freedom...'

Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in the Gezi Park trial and is being held in Silivri Prison, has issued a written statement on the seventh anniversary of his detention.

'MY ABILITY TO CONTINUE CIVIL SOCIETY WORK HAS BEEN PREVENTED'

Osman Kavala's statement is as follows:

"My seventh year in prison has been completed. Throughout this period, I have experienced a judicial process in which the presumption of innocence was violated and baseless allegations and false statements were used.

In 2019, the ECHR ruled that there was no evidence indicating that I had engaged in any activity that constitutes a crime. After the Gezi trial resulted in an acquittal for the same reason, the influence of politics over the judiciary increased. Laws were openly manipulated to avoid implementing the ECHR ruling and to overturn the acquittal decisions. A charge of espionage was fabricated in a manner contrary to the definitions in the law.

This accusation was also used politically; practices of 'enemy law' that devalue human rights and the lives of those considered 'the other' were encouraged. Thus, despite it being known that I had no connection to any act of violence, I was given the harshest sentence, and four other Gezi prisoners were sentenced to 18 years with the same approach. When the sentences were upheld by the Court of Cassation, I understood that members of the judiciary believe they have the authority to punish people they find objectionable, even though they know these people have not committed any crimes.

I believe that the spread of an understanding within the judiciary that does not value human life also reflects an erosion of fundamental ethical values, as seen in many incidents that have caused public outrage.

After the age of 60, I have spent a large part of the period of life I could have lived actively in prison. I could not share life with my wife; I could not live with my mother or my loved ones. My ability to continue the civil society work we have carried out for years, which I believe contributes to a culture of peace and reconciliation, has been prevented.

In order to continue feeling like a citizen while in prison, I have shared the injustices I have been subjected to and witnessed with the public, and I have tried to fulfill my responsibility to warn.

The fact that Gezi Park, which allowed me to recognize trees from the earliest time I can remember and taught me to share public space with others, remains a park used by our citizens of all ages and classes is a source of consolation for me.

However, what will truly console me will be to see developments in my country toward the rule of law. I believe that this will happen and that I will truly be able to breathe freedom."