Turkey .. Businessman Osman Kavala was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Washington denounced the sentence, describing it as "unfair."

A Turkish court has sentenced Osman Kavala, a businessman and dissident, to life imprisonment without a conditional amnesty, while the US State Department expressed its deep disappointment over his conviction and called on Ankara to release Kavala and all those "arbitrarily" detainees, as it described it.

Yesterday, Monday, the 30th Criminal Court in Istanbul issued its decision in the case in which 17 defendants, including 9 fugitives, including former CIA advisor Henry Barkey, are being tried, in the context of allegations related to the “failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. and Gezi Park events on May 28, 2013.”

The court sentenced Kavala to life imprisonment for attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or partially or completely obstructing its work. It also issued a sentence of 18 years imprisonment for 7 other defendants, and decided to separate the files of the nine fugitives from the case.

Kavala, 64, who has been detained since 2017, denies the charges against him, and in turn accuses the government of assassinating him politically and morally through the judiciary.

The courtroom was crowded with more than 200 people, including opponents and human rights activists, and many chanted slogans in front of the judges' committee in protest.

"The United States is deeply concerned and disappointed by the court's decision to convict Osman Kavala, who has been imprisoned without trial for more than 4 years," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Price added that Washington deplores what it called the continued judicial harassment of civil society, media, political leaders and businessmen in Turkey, calling on the Turkish government to stop what it described as politically motivated prosecutions, and to respect the rights and freedoms of all Turks.

The Kavala case has caused strained relations between Ankara and Western countries, and last October, the ambassadors of 10 Western countries, including the United States, published a joint statement on social media, calling on Turkey to release Kavala, and this prompted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to threaten to expel ambassadors those countries.