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Turkish Court Tries Businessman, Others Over 2013 Protests

Reuters

   SILIVRI, TURKEY - Prominent Turkish businessman Osman Kavala and 15
   other civil society figures went on trial on Monday accused of trying
   to overthrow then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government by
   organizing nationwide protests six years ago.

   The case began against a backdrop of concerns about growing
   authoritarianism in Turkey, where tens of thousands have been arrested
   in a crackdown on dissent since a failed military coup targeting
   Erdogan in 2016.

   The Gezi demonstrations in the summer of 2013 started as a protest
   against the redevelopment of a park in Istanbul, a city with limited
   green space, and quickly spread across the country.

   Erdogan at the time dismissed the idea that the protests were
   environmentally motivated, saying they aimed to topple his government.
   The defendants deny the charges against them.

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