An ambitious publisher, quick to take on the most divisive subjects, the 64-year-old publisher and patron has been imprisoned since October 2017 in the high security prison of Silivri, on the outskirts of Istanbul, despite repeated calls to his release.

He was originally prosecuted for supporting protests in 2013 - known as the Gezi movement - targeting the government of then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since then, charges, "fanciful" according to him, have accumulated, including that of an attempt to overthrow the government during the July 2016 coup, which was followed by massive purges across the country.

Over the years, the pro-government press has dubbed him "the red billionaire", comparing him to wealthy Hungarian-American businessman George Soros, a pet peeve of several leaders of authoritarian regimes around the world.

Protesters who came to support Osman Kavala outside a court in Istanbul on April 25, 2022 OZAN KOSE AFP

President Erdogan himself has repeatedly accused him of being Soros' "representative in Turkey" and of "financing terrorists", without ever providing proof.

"judicial assassination"

Born in 1957 in Paris, Osman Kavala studied economics at the University of Manchester, UK, before taking over the family business on the death of his father in 1982.

Known for his support for cultural projects relating in particular to the rights of minorities, the Kurdish question and the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation, he gradually devoted himself to publishing, art and culture, inaugurating in 1982 the house of Iletisim edition, which has become one of the most prestigious in Turkey.

Allowing Turkish society to debate difficult subjects, including the Armenian genocide, through cultural projects, will still be one of the missions of Anadolu Kültür, a foundation he created in 2002.

Humble, but stubborn;

courteous, but direct;

directive, but never condescending: thus describes it its entourage.

To host the exhibitions, Osman Kavala transformed a former tobacco depot in the center of Istanbul, which he had inherited, into a cultural center now called Depo.

“I never saw him reject anyone who came up with an interesting idea, whether it was a literary or a film project,” says Asena Günal, director of Anadolu Kültür.

Acquitted in February 2020 for the Gezi protests - a decision since invalidated - he was arrested a few hours later and imprisoned as part of another investigation linked to the July 2016 coup attempt.

"He is the last person who could support a coup. It is appalling to see him targeted in an incomprehensible political game," said Emma Sinclair-Webb of the NGO Human Rights Watch.

In February, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) launched "infringement proceedings" against Turkey, an extremely rare decision which could lead to possible sanctions against Ankara if Osman Kavala is not quickly released.

In vain.

Last month, prosecutors called for his sentencing to life in prison without the possibility of early release.

A "judicial assassination", he estimated on Monday, before the judges retired to deliberate.

Friday, he had already launched to their address: "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 Turkish justice" .

© 2022 AFP