Turkey acquits the Gezi Park protesters, then rearrests one
Demonstrators against President Erdogan’s government do not go unpunished
THE FINAL hearing in the trial of the environmental activists was rushed. Throughout the case, the court had failed to scrutinise evidence. So on February 18th, when the judge told the defendants they were acquitted, a stunned courtroom broke out in applause. The relief was short-lived. Ruling-party officials tweeted their disapproval, and by nightfall Osman Kavala, the best-known of the group, was arrested again.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Guilty of caring”
Europe February 22nd 2020
- Emmanuel Macron’s reforms are working, but not for him
- A sexting scandal makes France fret it is turning Puritan
- How Sweden copes with Chinese bullying
- The $50bn Yukos judgment against Russia turns on a single word
- An Orthodox Christian schism in Ukraine echoes around the world
- Turkey acquits the Gezi Park protesters, then rearrests one
- Poland is cocking up migration in a very European way
From the February 22nd 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
François Hollande hopes to make the French left electable again
The former president moves away from the radicals
Germans are growing cold on the debt brake
Expect changes after the election
The Pope and Italy’s prime minister tussle over Donald Trump
Giorgia Meloni was the only European leader at the inauguration
Europe faces a new age of gunboat digital diplomacy
Can the EU regulate Donald Trump’s big tech bros?
Ukrainian scientists are studying downed Russian missiles
And learning a lot about sanctions-busting
How Poland emerged as a leading defence power
Will others follow?