The Supreme Court of Appeal of Turkey upheld the life sentence imposed on businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, Haberturk channel and other media reported, while overturning the 18-year prison sentence imposed on three of his co-accused.

THE 65-year-old Kavala he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in April 2022. Seven others were sentenced to 18 years in prison for organizing and financing protests in 2013. The court’s verdict was seen at the time as a symbol of the crackdown on dissidents in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey and punishment, through the judicial system, of those the government considers its enemies. All defendants have denied the charges, arguing that the 2013 protests were spontaneous.

The court today upheld the life sentence for Kavala and 18 years for four other defendants, including lawyer Can Atalai, who was elected to parliament last May. On the contrary, the sentence for Mujela Yapici, Hakan Altinai and Yigit Ekmekci was overturned.

The ruling marks the end of legal remedies for Kavala, who has remained in prison since 2017. The Constitutional Court had already rejected his appeal.

Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Constantinople and other cities in Turkey in 2013, protesting government plans to build a replica Ottoman barracks in Gezi Park. At the time, Erdogan equated the protesters with terrorists and repeatedly accused Kavala of financing the protests.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Kavala and other defendants should be released because their rights were violated, but Turkey has not implemented the ruling and now faces the possibility of sanctions from the Council of Europe.