Turkish activist’s trial resumes after diplomatic bust-up

ISTANBUL: The trial of jailed civil society leader Osman Kavala resumed Friday with the first hearing since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to expel 10 Western ambassadors who called for his release.

The hearing comes with Erdogan facing one of the toughest economic tests of his rule since 2003, as the Turkish lira tumbles to record lows against the dollar.

The 64-year-old civil society leader and businessman, who has been kept in jail without conviction for more than four years, is accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in the 2016 coup a empt.

If convicted, he could be jailed for life without the possibility of parole.

Western diplomats, including from countries whose envoys had been threatened with expulsion, as well as several opposition lawmakers were in court.

The philanthropist has become a symbol to his supporters of the sweeping crackdown Erdogan unleashed a er the failed coup.

Kavala, who denies the charges, snubbed Friday’s hearing a er his case sparked a diplomatic standoff last month when the 10 embassies – including the US, France and Germany – said in a highly unusual declaration that his continued detention “cast a shadow” over Turkey’s democracy and judicial system.

Erdogan accused the diplomats of trying to ‘teach a lesson’ to Turkey and threatened to expel them.

Kavala’s case could prompt the Council of Europe human rights watchdog to launch its first disciplinary hearings against Turkey at a four-day meeting ending on December 2 – a procedure that has only been used once before in the court’s history.

The watchdog has issued a final warning to Turkey to comply with a 2019 European Court of Human Rights order to release Kavala pending trial.

The diplomatic spat was resolved a er the US and several of the other countries issued statements saying they respected the UN convention requiring diplomats not to interfere in a host country’s domestic affairs.

Erdogan has o en compared Kavala to Hungarian-born US financier George Soros and called him ‘Soros le over’ in October, which drew sharp rebuke from the Paris-born philanthropist.