Turkey's civil society condemned to silence after Kavala life sentence
In 2013, peaceful protests began in May in Istanbul's central Taksim Square against plans to redevelop a part of the iconic site but spiralled into weeks of anti-government protests after a police crackdown. On May Day this year, as every year since then, the venue will be empty after a Turkish court handed prominent civil society leader Osman Kavala a life sentence for allegedly financing that rally and trying to topple President Recep Tayyip's government. Critics accuse Erdogan of amassing great power, trampling on human rights and quashing dissent.
Source: france24.com