The U.S. slammed Turkey for sentencing a prominent businessman and philanthropist to life in prison for allegedly attempting to topple the government in a case that it saw as a test of freedom of expression and judicial independence.
A criminal court in Istanbul convicted Osman Kavala of conspiring to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a failed 2016 coup, and for allegedly financing and organizing nationwide anti-government protests in 2013. Kavala was acquitted on charges of espionage. He denies all the charges.