Osman Kavala: Arbitrary punishment will continue for some time

Osman Kavala, whose aggravated life sentence in the Gezi Park trial was upheld, has released a written statement. Stating that the rejection of his retrial request "shows that arbitrary punishment will continue for some time," Kavala said, "Nevertheless, I hope that the Constitutional Court will evaluate our applications in the coming days and issue a ruling in line with the ECHR decisions."

REQUEST FOR RETRIAL HAD BEEN REJECTED

The request for a retrial in the interest of law for Kavala, who has been held in prison for 2,440 days, has been rejected. The decision cited Article 312, which falls under the heading of "crimes against the government," and stated, "In view of the scope of the file, the grounds it is based on, and the discretion of the court, no appeal for reversal in the interest of law has been filed against the decision of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court dated 25/04/2024 and numbered 2024/65 miscellaneous works."

Following the rejection of his request, Kavala made the following statement:

"In the Gezi trial, people committed to the values of law and democracy were tried without any evidence that they had committed a crime and were given heavy sentences. My seventh year in prison will soon be completed.

The rejection of our requests for a retrial submitted to the local courts and the Ministry of Justice shows that arbitrary punishment will continue for some time. Nevertheless, I hope that the Constitutional Court will evaluate our applications in the coming days and issue a ruling in line with the ECHR decisions.

I believe that the days when fundamental legal principles will prevail in our country are not far off. Protecting the right of citizens to live freely and securely is the fundamental duty of the state. Every citizen's life is equally valuable."