Betreff: Open letter: What did Osman Kavala do?
Datum: Mon, 15 Jun 2020 20:01:38 +0000
Von: e-flux <i...@mailer.e-flux.com>
*What did Osman Kavala do?*
Shermin Langhoff, Fatih Akin and other supporters answer this question
in a solidarity campaign for Osman Kavala
https://artistsunitedforosmankavala.com
What did Kavala do?
Shermin Langhoff, Fatih Akin and other supporters answer this question
in a solidarity campaign for Osman Kavala, a cultural benefactor
imprisoned in Turkey.
Under the banner of “Artists United for Osman Kavala,” notable
representatives from the arts, politics and civil society have begun an
initiative to raise international awareness about Osman Kavala's case
and support his allies in Turkey.
In addition to Kavala's friends and collaborators, the supporters of
“What did Kavala do?” include artists, intellectuals, activists and
more. They include the filmmakers Fatih Akin and Atom Egoyan, composer
Zülfü Livaneli and artist Banu Cennetoğlu, author Sibylle Berg and
actress Katja Riemann, human rights activist Peter Steudtner and the
general secretary of the German section of Amnesty International Markus
N. Beeko, Maxim Gorki Theatre Artistic Director Shermin Langhoff and
Goethe Institute Secretary General Johannes Ebert, other friends of
Turkey such as businessman Edzard Reuter, as well as politicians
including Berlin Deputy Governing Mayor and Senator for Culture and
Europe Klaus Lederer, Members of the Bundestag Claudia Roth and Cem
Özdemir, and many more.
Under the title “What did Kavala do?” they will illustrate, in daily
video messages on Instagram, Osman Kavala's devotion to culture and
social understanding, as well as his significance for civil society in
Turkey—and beyond its borders.
“Artists United for Osman Kavala” is an initiative from filmmaker Fatih
Akin and theatre-maker Shermin Langhoff.
Shermin Langhoff, Maxim Gorki Theatre artistic director: “This moral
courage, this belief in art as a possibility for encounters and
dialogue, the spaces of opportunity that Osman Kavala created for art
and utopian thought about peace, freedom and equality, also motivate us
to keep going. He is our role model. Through our initiative we want to
raise awareness about Kavala's case on an international level and
persuade more people to support his cause.”
Filmmaker Fatih Akin: “This action is a bond of friendship from all
participants, dedicated to Osman Kavala, a humanitarian in prison.”
For the last 946 days, the Turkish benefactor and supporter of art and
culture Osman Kavala has been imprisoned in Silivri's high-security
wing. Founder of the Anadolu Kültür cultural foundation, he was
charged with co-organising the Gezi protests in 2013. After more than
two years in pretrial detention, Osman Kavala was initially discharged
in February of this year only to be arrested again, just a few hours
later, for participating in the attempted coup in July 2016. The
European Court of Human Rights found his imprisonment to be illegal and
called for Kavala's release. On May 12, 2020, Ankara's appeal against
the Strasbourg Court's ruling was rejected.
More about the campaign can be found on
https://www.artistsunitedforosmankavala.com
Please contact us at berlinforkav...@theater-findet-stadt.de
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