filamentosmovimentos

"We are deeply saddened and extremely worried about the recent developments around the arrest of our colleague and friend Osman Kavala, chairman of Anadolu Kültür in Istanbul."

European Cultural Foundation in
http://www.culturalfoundation.eu/library/ecf-arrest-of-osman-kavala-setback-for-cultural-collaborations?rq=osman%20kavala

and, via friend:
"Thank you for your support. So sad and angry... Osman Kavala is one of the most important figures of cultural/political/artistic life in Turkey. He not only built bridges between Turks and Kurds, our neighbours such as Armenians, Greeks, and Iranians, but also supported art, education, etc. Such a special person... I used to meet him at demonstrations here and there. A gentle, powerful and grounded presence. After jailing many journalists, writers, academics, teachers, and, judges, the dictatorship continues with one of the top (in a quiet way) in cultural life. He is also a well-educated businessman and philanthropist. The campaign against him in the the pro-government media is outrageous and revolting. Sometimes deep down I believe this will all pass as if waking up from a nightmare, and there will be justice in the end. Thousands struggle for justice everyday, e.g. to get their jobs back (Nuriye Gulmen and Semih Ozakca are on the 247th day of their hunger strike). More than a million marched for justice last summer... A systematic destruction of every area of our lives -material and immaterial."