It is soon the end of a legal marathon for Osman Kavala: the Turkish philanthropist, detained without trial for four and a half years, should be fixed Monday on his future, after having denounced Friday April 22 in front of the judges the influence of the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his trial.

The Istanbul court, which multiplies the hearings and keeps him each time in detention, postponed until Monday 10 a.m. (7 a.m. GMT) the pleadings of its defenders, before the statement of the verdict, noted an AFP journalist .

For the first time in many months, Osman Kavala, 64, spoke by videoconference from his cell in Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, to denounce "a strange indictment based on conspiracy theories and false testimony".

Osman Kavala, who over the years has become the regime's pet peeve, is accused of funding the 2013 anti-government protests and taking part in the plot leading to the July 2016 coup attempt, as well as spy. 

These accusations, which he has always denied, make him incur life imprisonment and expose Ankara to international reprobation and European sanctions. 

The philanthropist insisted that he had "never been questioned by the prosecutor at any stage of the proceedings", which constitutes "a serious breach of his obligations", he noted.

“I expect nothing and I try not to hope for anything”

Last month, prosecutors sought his conviction for "attempting to overthrow" the government - a life sentence without the possibility of early release.

Osman Kavala is on trial along with seven of the 16 other defendants for the 2013 protests – nine of whom fled abroad.

Human rights activists are still hoping for a release that would send a positive signal, as Turkey tries to facilitate talks between Ukraine and Russia.

"Osman Kavala is one of Turkey's most prominent prisoners, but the attention given to him has not prevented him from suffering serious injustices at the hands of the system," said Guney Yildiz of Amnesty International in Turkey.

For the person concerned, "having spent four and a half years of my life in prison can never be compensated. The only thing that can console me will be to have contributed to revealing the serious errors of justice", he said. thrown to the judges.

His wife Ayse Bugra, in a statement to the France 24 channel, assured that she did not understand what the justice accused her of: "My husband is not affiliated with any political party, organization or movement, so it is quite strange", she noted.

"I expect nothing and I try not to hope for anything above all, because disappointed hope is devastating".

With AFP

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