Turkish-style justice: A businessman is acquitted of terrorism, and is arrested immediately upon leaving prison
Osman Kabela, who supported the Erdogan protests in 2013 around Istanbul's Gazi Park, is surprisingly credited with other activists. However, soon after, he was taken down by police on suspicion of involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. Foreign observers, opposition members and rights groups were stunned: "Back to a Dark Age"
Turkish-style justice: A businessman is acquitted of terrorism, and is arrested immediately upon leaving prison
Editing: Asaf DruryTurkish businessman and philanthropist Osman Kabala on Tuesday was convicted of terrorist offenses for his part in protests at Istanbul's Gazi Park in 2013 - but re-arrested a few hours later. According to media outlets in the country, he was taken down by police in Istanbul.
Those protests were a major challenge to the then prime minister and now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Kabala's acquittal, along with eight other defendants, came as a surprise. Their trial is considered a test for the Turkish judicial system, whose independence has been impaired in recent years and has been criticized by Western countries.
The businessman has been arrested again for his alleged involvement in the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan, and foreign observers, opposition members and human rights activists have reacted with astonishment and frustration.
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Osman Kabala, Turkish activist and businessman (Photo: AP)
"There is no way to believe in any improvement in Turkey if the prosecution hits any step forward. Back to a dark period," European Special Envoy Nacho Sanchez said.
Emma Sinclair-Webb, who is in charge of Turkey's human rights organization, described the arrest warrant as "illegal and vindictive," contrary to last December's Human Rights Council ruling, which demanded his immediate release.
Police arrested Kabala immediately after he was released from the extensive prison complex in Silibri, west of Istanbul, and took him down to police following routine medical examinations. At the end of the day, the Prosecutor General's Office will decide whether to officially arrest him and return him to prison, where he was held for two years. He was charged with attempting to overthrow the government through the 2013 protests, during which hundreds of thousands marched across Turkey against Erdogan's plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gazi Park.