A new arrest warrant has been issued against Turkish intellectual Osman Kavala about three weeks after he was acquitted and arrested again. The reason was the accusation of „political and military espionage“ in connection with the attempted coup in 2016, the state news agency Anadolu reported yesterday.
An Istanbul prosecutor had previously applied for the warrant. Anadolu said that Kavala, who was detained in Silivri maximum security prison, was then interrogated in the evening via video.
Relation to Gezi protests
Kavala has been in custody for more than two years with a brief interruption. In February, an Istanbul court acquitted Kavala and eight other defendants of charges of attempting to overthrow the 2013 government-critical Gezi protests.
The court also ordered Kavala to be released. However, shortly after his release, Kavala was arrested again, this time on the grounds that there was „strong evidence“ that Kavala was involved in the decision-making process of the coup attempt.
