Prominent musician calls Osman Kavala 'one of the best philanthropists in the world’

Turkish musician Zülfü Livaneli has said in a video that jailed businessman, philanthropist and human rights defender Osman Kavala is “one of the best philanthropists in the world.” The video was shot as part of the campaign "Artists United for Kavala," which has brought together several artists who tell the story of how Kavala touched their lives.

Duvar English

Celebrated Turkish musician Zülfü Livaneli has called jailed businessman and human rights defender Osman Kavala "one of the best philanthropists in the world" in a video.

Kavala has been imprisoned for 946 days as of June 11, initially for allegedly organizing the Gezi protests of 2013 that started as an environmentalist sit-in but later snowballed into months-long anti-government protests.

Although Kavala has been acquitted of all charges related to the Gezi case, he’s been held in prison since then, accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order in a failed coup in 2016.

Shot for the campaign "Artists United for Kavala," a video depicted Livaneli describing what he believes Kavala to have done.

“I know and I see that for years, he only acted in good faith, that he wanted to help the oppressed with cultural activity, that he only wanted to support and help lost languages,” Livaneli said of Kavala.

“I wish there was more of Osman Kavala.”

Organized by Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akın and theater-maker Shermin Langhoff, the project brings together several artists who tell the story of how Kavala had an impact on them.

The project describes Kavala "as an individual who tirelessly worked to bring people with different perspectives together in dialogue, through initiatives in arts and culture and cultural collaborations in Turkey and internationally."

Topics Turkey Osman Kavala kavala Zülfü Livaneli Livaneli