Statement from Osman Kavala regarding Ayşe Barım

Businessman Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in the Gezi Park trial and has been held in Silivri Prison for over 7 years, issued a statement regarding talent manager Ayşe Barım, who was detained and arrested on January 27 on charges of being one of the planners of the Gezi Park protests 12 years ago. Kavala stated, "It is impossible for the prosecutor's office not to understand from the phone traffic records in their possession that my conversations with Barım began after the Gezi protests had ended."

Kavala's statement is as follows:

"The arrests we have been observing for some time are concerning. What is being done regarding Ayşe Barım is a striking example of distorting reality and creating perceptions, similar to what we experienced in the Gezi trial. In the statement made to the public by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on January 24, it is stated that one of the reasons for Barım's detention was the detection of intense communication between us regarding the Gezi events. However, it is impossible for the prosecutor's office not to understand from the phone traffic records in their possession that my conversations with Barım began after the Gezi protests had ended. My phones were being tapped before, during, and after Gezi. The prosecutor also had knowledge that no such conversations as alleged ever took place.

The common feature seen in the arrests of Barım, mayors, politicians, and journalists is that there is no longer a need to establish a legal connection between the accusations and the actions of the accused, nor to present credible evidence. This practice was perfected in the Gezi trial, and the Gezi trial was used to accustom the public to this practice. I believe that the recent efforts to criminalize the Gezi protests also serve this purpose."