Turkish Gezi park activists acquitted of terror charges in surprise ruling
Source: The Guardian
A Turkish court has acquitted nine activists accused of terror charges over their alleged involvement in Istanbul’s Gezi park protests, a landmark ruling in a case that has given new hope to Turkey’s beleaguered civil society in a country where many fear the rule of law is being steadily eroded.
Applause erupted in the courtroom and some people cried in disbelief when the decision was announced at a courthouse near the Silivri maximum security prison campus, on the outskirts of Istanbul, on Tuesday.
A guilty verdict had widely been expected for the businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has been held in pre-trial detention for more than two years, along with two other defendants facing life sentences without parole for their role in the 2013 protests.
The 16 civil society figures on trial – among them architects, journalists, lawyers and actors – were facing a total of 47,520 years in prison over allegations of trying to overthrow then prime minister and now president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government by organising the demonstrations.
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Bethan McKernan, Turkey correspondent
Tue 18 Feb 2020 13.13 GMT
Last modified on Tue 18 Feb 2020 14.52 GMT
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/18/turkey-acquits-nine-activists-held-over-2013-gezi-park-protests
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