It was a trial closely followed by international and local observers. Finally, on April 25, the Turkish court handed down its decision. Turkey's renowned philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in prison after having spent four and a half years behind bars already. The ruling went against the European Court of Human Rights’ 2019 calls to release Kavala due to “insufficient evidence,” and the Council of Europe statement from last year that said it would start infringement proceedings against Turkey at the end of November [2021] if Kavala was not released. In addition to Kavala, seven co-defendants were remanded to prison. All stood trial for charges of espionage and attempting to overthrow the government, among others. Kareem Fahim wrote a piece for the Washington Post following the court's decision: Kavala’s long legal ordeal had come to symbolize a tireless crackdown by Erdoğan on opposition figures, dissidents and other perceived enemies in the years since an attempted coup against the government in 2016. But even among the masses swept up in the state’s dragnet, Kavala stood out for the extraordinary lengths Turkey exerted to keep him locked up, and for Erdoğan’s apparent personal antagonism toward him. Addressing the courtroom via video from the Silivri prison where he is held, the philanthropist described the trial as “completely deformed under political influence,” and his extended detention “an act of deprivation of liberty by abuse of power.” Kavala also said the verdict was “an assassination by the use of judiciary.” Following the court's decision, the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur for Turkey Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D, ES), and the Chair of the EU-Turkey Parliamentary Delegation Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens/EFA, DE) issued a statement criticizing the trial outcome: Turkey’s judiciary has confirmed the worst of forecasts when convicting today Osman Kavala to aggravated life sentence on the account of allegedly attempting to overthrow the government. This regrettable decision by the Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court is in clear contempt to the rulings of the European Court on Human Rights and will surely bring about consequences in the infringement proceedings ongoing at the Council of Europe. This decision reconfirms the authoritarian character of the current system and it clearly shows the lack of willingness to make any kind of real reforms in the field of fundamental rights and rule of law. In this view, there is little to none EU perspective for the current Turkey, which is sliding away from international consensus on a rule-based order while disrespecting its own international commitments. Amnesty International described the decision as a “devastating blow for human rights” in Turkey. Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks, said: Today, we have witnessed a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions. This verdict deals a devastating blow not only to Osman Kavala, his co-defendants and their families, but to everyone who believes in justice and human rights activism in Turkey and beyond. The court’s decision defies all logic. The prosecuting authorities have repeatedly failed to provide any evidence that substantiates the baseless charges of attempting to overthrow the government. This unjust verdict shows that the Gezi trial was only an attempt to silence independent voices. Kavala, a successful Turkish businessman who has supported numerous civil society initiatives in Turkey over the years, including the Open Society Foundation Turkey, was taken into custody on October 18, 2017. Two weeks later he was arrested on charges of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” and “attempting to overthrow the government” over his alleged financing of the Gezi Protests in 2013. He has been in a maximum-security prison since November 2017. In February 2020, Kavala was acquitted however, hours later, he was accused of involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. Although he was cleared one month after this accusation, Kavala was kept in remand detention on the charge of “political or military espionage.” Then in January 2021, his acquittal in the Gezi Park trial was reversed and during the trial held in February 2021, the court ruled to combine charges leveled against Kavala in the Gezi Park trial with the 2016 coup, ruling to continue his detention. Kavala's lawyers have said, the indictment is a presumptive fiction lacking any evidence. International human rights organizations and civil society groups in Turkey have said the arrest of Kavala is politically motivated.