Osman Kavala is a Turkish philanthropist, a socially responsible businessperson, a peace and human rights defender and, above all, an activist and advocate for civil society. Since November 1st 2017, he has been unjustly detained in the high security prison in Silivri, despite the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanding his immediate release.
One may wonder: What did Kavala do? This question is raised by “Artists United for Osman Kavala”, an initiative of filmmaker Fatih Akın and theatre-maker Shermin Langhoff and many other friends who in short video messages tell the story of how Osman Kavala has engaged. The result is a mosaic of initiatives that Kavala has supported and a polyphony of confessions of friendship and missing.
In a second series of videos, more and more people from all over the world are contributing videos as they have learned about Kavala’s engagement. The creative videos of artists, intellectuals and other members of civil society are a sign of international solidarity and a demand for action to release Osman Kavala immediately.