EXCLUSIVE
Extinction Rebellion plans ‘maximum havoc’ for polluters at COP26



By Nan Spowart Journalist

THE NATIONAL, SCOTLAND

CLIMATE change protestors have vowed to cause minimum disruption to Glaswegians during COP26 – but maximum havoc for those driving the climate crisis.

They are also calling for as many people in Scotland as possible to take to the streets on November 6 to join others across the world in a mass demonstration demanding radical ­action to reduce emissions.

Moray-based architectural ­designer Simon Clark will be among those ­protesting in Glasgow and told the Sunday National he is so angry about the crisis he is prepared to be ­arrested.

However he said more could be achieved if people turn out in their millions in cities and towns across the globe.

“This affects everyone and only a massive uprising of people on the streets across the world will really drive the massive change that has to come, otherwise it will be business as usual,” said Clark who is a member of Extinction Rebellion Scotland.

“The previous 25 COPs have failed in their purpose to reduce ­emissions. We have had 40 years of ­warnings, 30 years of negotiations and yet ­emissions have risen 50% since 1990 and the UN predict they will rise ­another 26% by 2030. We are in a ­climate emergency because of the lack of action. We are in the last chance saloon and the next few years will determine what will happen for thousands of years to come.”



In the lead up to the mass protest on November 6 there will be a ­“Pilgrims’ Procession” on October 30, when protestors from across Europe will ­arrive in Glasgow before the start of the global summit the following day.

“The action call is to everyone who is worried and terrified about what the future will bring and who ­understands that the decisions that come out of COP will affect us all,” said Clark.

He said he was particularly ­worried by a recent report from the normally conservative think tank Chatham House which said there was only a 1% chance of keeping the rise in ­global temperatures at under 1.5 ­degrees and just a 5% chance of ­staying under two degrees. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted major climate catastrophes even if the rise is kept to 1.5 degrees.

Clark became involved with ­Extinction Rebellion two years ago when he found out the target of net zero by 2050 was based on IPCC ­research that concludes it will still only give a one in two chance of avoiding catastrophe.

“I thought, my God, if I caught a train to London that had a one in two chance of getting there I wouldn’t even get on board – nobody would. And yet these are the projections that politicians and corporations are ­playing with. It’s criminal,” he said.

Critics have queried why protestors targeting a summit intended to take action to reduce global warming but the activists point out that every summit so far has failed to solve the crisis.

“Our view is that fuel companies, governments, investment banks and the media who will tell the story of all this, will spin it as a success to an unsuspecting public,” said Clark. “We take the view that COP will decide who is sacrificed, who escapes and who profits the most.

“Our objective is to be disruptive –not with the general public – but those who perpetuate the climate ­crisis.”


UK Home Secretary Priti Patel (above) has branded Extinction Rebellion as “eco-crusaders turned criminals” but Clark said his experience with the group was one of non-violent, direct action.

“We are a very disciplined bunch in terms of what we are doing. We are well organised and have specific ground rules about how we behave,” he said. “A lot of work is done on that and a lot of training in preparation for these actions. If we are advocating system change and a different world we need to behave as we would wish to see that world.”

He admitted the COP26 protest could attract elements more intent on causing mayhem than action on climate change but said it would be a “shame” if that was the media’s focus.

“Anyone can jump on it but ­generally I don’t think it happens,” said Clark. “It would be a shame if that image is projected because we are a peaceful, non-violent group and our view is that the major disruption to the people of Glasgow will be the event itself and the massive police and military presence protecting those in power. Anything we do will be tiny droplets in the ocean of ­disruption.

“We will focus on organisations that drive the climate crisis which is ­mainly fuel companies, investment banks and the media who prefer not to report the extent of the crisis. Our aim will be to minimally disrupt the people of Glasgow.”

The flagship march of the Global Day of Action begins at noon on ­November 6 at Kelvingrove Park and heads to Glasgow Green for a rally at 3pm. To see the Glasgow Day of Action route map on November 6 go to: https://goo.gl/maps/L5w4rB4bNeUrQk9G9

Fears COP26 cruise ships could spark a new wave of infections

Cruise ships used to house conference staff during COP26 could cause Covid outbreaks and prompt a new wave of infections, public health experts have warned.

By John Jeffay

Sunday, 17th October 2021, 

Two huge vessels will be berthed on the River Clyde to provide accommodation for workers during the climate summit, which will attract about 25,000 delegates to Glasgow.

Scottish Government adviser and public health professor Devi Sridhar previously called cruise ships floating "germ factories" and urged holidaymakers to avoid them.COP26 organisers have sourced two ships from an Estonian operator to provide accommodation for "security and production staff" amid a shortage of hotel rooms and soaring room rates in Glasgow.

Tallink's MS Romantika, which has capacity for 2,500 people, has already berthed at King George V dock, next to Braehead Shopping Centre in Renfrew. A second cruise ship, MS Silja Europa, will provide 3,123 more beds. Shuttle buses will take those on board to and from the summit.

Dr Rowland Kao, a professor of epidemiology at Edinburgh University, said: "Cruise ships are likely places with high transmission of Covid because of enclosed spaces, especially if there is poor ventilation where people come into close contact. Given how transmissible the delta variant is, even to vaccinated individuals there will be risks. So lots of testing is going to be important.

"Professor Andrew Watterson, an expert in public health at Stirling University, added: "Much more information needs to be provided to reassure the population of Glasgow and the visitors that there will be no increased Covid risk to either group from the use of cruise ships."

If the cruise ship occupants come from all over the world, and if there are not rigorous requirements on vaccination and testing along with on-board Covid mitigation measures, the cruise ships could prove to be sources of significant virus transmission in the city. 

Being in the one port for several days with ship occupants possibly moving around the central belt and beyond may present unusual Covid control challenges.”COP26 said the Scottish Government and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were consulted about the cruise ships plan and a rigorous Covid testing system will be in place.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We have been working with event organisers for some time to ensure COP26 can proceed with as little detriment to the current public health situation."As ever, we will need everyone to play their part in reducing any potential impact on our health and care services. This includes regular lateral flow tests, when you have no symptoms, to help combat the spread of Covid, social distancing where possible, and good hand hygiene.

"If anyone has Covid symptoms, they should self-isolate immediately and arrange to take a PCR test."

The Scottish Government said: "We expect all hotel accommodation providers for COP26 to follow the relevant Scottish Government guidance for Covid-19 mitigation."

Tallink said: "All our crew ­members are vaccinated, they were PCR tested before travelling to the UK, they wear face masks and, in some key areas, gloves. They will also be taking regular lateral flow testing throughout the whole charter. All crew are in single cabins. Plexi-glass partitions are in place at key customer service points, rigorous cleaning and sanitising is taking place on board with sanitising ­stations all around the ship."

NOT JUST GRETA AND THE GANG

Cop26 corporate sponsors condemn climate summit as ‘mismanaged’

Exclusive: NatWest, Microsoft and GSK among firms to raise complaint over poor planning and breakdown in relations

The Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, one of the host venues for the Cop26 climate summit in November.

 Photograph: Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

Jillian Ambrose
Sun 17 Oct 2021 

Companies that stumped up millions of pounds to sponsor the Cop26 climate summit have condemned it as “mismanaged” and “very last minute” in a volley of complaints as next month’s event in Glasgow draws near.

The sponsors, which include some of Britain’s biggest companies, have raised formal complaints blaming “very inexperienced” civil servants for delayed decisions, poor communication and a breakdown in relations between the organisers and firms in the run-up to the landmark talks.

The Guardian understands that a letter to the organisers, written by broadcaster Sky and co-signed by senior leaders from other Cop26 sponsors, has raised concerns with them over these and other problems, and followed another co-signed letter in July.

The UK is running its Cop26 presidency from within the Cabinet Office, under the leadership of the former business secretary Alok Sharma, who is the Cop26 president, and the businessman Nigel Topping who was appointed the government’s high-level climate action champion last year. Sponsorship is expected to help defray a policing bill estimated to reach up to £250m.

Alongside Sky, the summit has 10 other major sponsors, including energy giants Hitachi, National Grid, Scottish Power and SSE, US tech titan Microsoft, and FTSE companies GSK, NatWest, Reckitt, Sainsbury’s and Unilever. Unilever has denied signing the letter penned by Sky. Other lower tier “partners” include the car maker Jaguar Land Rover and the furniture retailer Ikea.

One source, employed by a Cop26 sponsor, said that “the biggest frustration” was the lack of information about how the event will run, and the role for its key backers, because important questions have gone unanswered and planning decisions have been delayed.

“They had an extra year to prepare for Cop due to Covid, but it doesn’t feel like this time was used to make better progress. Everything feels very last minute,” the source said.

The upcoming climate talks, considered the last chance to put the world on track to meet its climate ambitions, are due to take place in early November after the event was postponed by a year because of the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020.

They have already been thrown into turmoil by suggestions that the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will skip the event, threatening the chances of a global pact with the world’s biggest carbon dioxide emitter.

Organisers of Cop26 promised sponsors an “outstanding opportunity” and “unique benefits” in exchange for their support, including a chance to promote their brands at the conference “green zone” exhibition space and the participation of government ministers at their events.

But in multiple emails and official letters the companies have complained to organisers about unmet expectations, and deepening concerns over delays to the green zone plans. They have also raised complaints that ministers have not always been available for their events in the run-up to Cop26, as agreed as part of the sponsor deals.

Other sources have described the “shifting goal posts” and “inertia” plaguing the Cop26 planning as “deeply frustrating”.

Many of the event’s corporate backers regularly take part in high-profile sponsorship deals for big events, and have been left bewildered by the slow progress of the Cop26 events, another source explained.

The source blamed the “very young, very inexperienced” civil servants tasked with planning the event for taking a “top-down public sector approach” that has raised hackles among sponsors.

“It’s clear that many of them have very little experience managing relationships in the private sector, or even experience attending a Cop event,” the source said.

The energy company sponsors – Hitachi, National Grid, Scottish Power and SSE – are understood to be particularly frustrated because they were under the impression that no other energy brands would feature at Cop26. However, the “blue zone”, which is organised by the UN, will include rival brands.

Ministers had been due to release three key documents on Monday on the government’s plans to achieve its net zero target by 2035, but publication has been delayed owing to the murder of the MP Sir David Amess.

The documents reveal a stark split within the cabinet, understood to be between on one side Boris Johnson, the prime minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, and Michael Gove, responsible for improving the UK’s homes, all seeing benefits to strong climate action; and on the other, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, a free-market hawk instinctively opposed to government intervention.

All three papers are now expected to come later in the week, with the government seeking to preserve a show of unity over the publications.

The row over the government’s handling of Cop26 planning has emerged amid public order concerns, with up to 150,000 protesters expected to take to Glasgow’s streets in early November alongside the crucial climate talks, which will require one of the largest policing operations ever undertaken in Britain.

Countries and organisations planning to host events have also said they fear that increased costs will cause problems for developing nations.

Multiple participants told the Guardian earlier this month that the cost of renting Cop26 pavilions – event spaces for hosting workshops, panel discussions and keynote speeches during the conference – is considerably higher than it was at Cop25 in Madrid, with some saying it had increased by as much as 30%.

A Cop26 spokesperson said the organisers were “working closely” with sponsors which would increase the value-for-money for taxpayers, and reduce the overall financial cost of Cop26.

A Whitehall veteran of Cop summits said: “It feels like some of these sponsors have forgotten the actual reason we’re in Glasgow. Cop isn’t about branding, it’s about tackling climate change. Keeping 1.5C in reach is the best thing you can do for your bottom line: they would do well to remember this.”

Additional reporting Fiona Harvey

‘Pakistan is facing existential crisis’
National
October 15, 2021



NEW YORK: The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its latest report in August 2021, on the heels of one of the hottest and most devastating summers on record: floods in northern Europe and China, wildfires in the US, and heatwaves everywhere.

The report tells us that the consequences of the current global warming crisis are largely irreversible. The most we can do is to prevent all-out ecological collapse.

One of the more sobering findings of the report is that polar and mountain glaciers are likely going to continue to melt, irreversibly, for decades or centuries to come.

Pakistan has more glaciers outside of the polar icecaps than anywhere on earth. The glaciers feed one of the oldest and most fertile valleys on the planet – that of the Indus Basin, split between India and Pakistan. Roughly 75 percent of Pakistan’s 216 million population is settled on the banks of the Indus River. Its five largest urban centres are entirely dependent on the river for industrial and domestic water.

Pakistan has been blessed with regular agricultural cycles that have sustained its economy through successive crises. However, if the IPCC report is correct – which it almost certainly is – by 2050, the country will be out of water.

Pakistan is not the only low-income country facing the impacts of climate change. It is not alone in looking on helplessly as industrialised nations – China and the US being the foremost – drag their heels on lowering emissions. Pakistan, like the Maldives and many other island nations, will suffer from the consequences of global warming disproportionately. However, unlike many countries that have taken up the issue of global emissions at the UN, Pakistan is not doing even the bare minimum to try and secure its future.

To say that this is the largest security issue the country will face in the next few decades would be putting it mildly. No other country is as dependent on non-polar ice for freshwater as Pakistan. No other country stands to lose as much. Yet, Pakistan’s government seems singularly unaware of the looming crisis. It has not even made much effort to meet its target of producing 60 percent of its electrical power from renewable sources by 2030. At the moment, the country still gets well over 60 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels.

Pakistan is already facing mounting environmental challenges. Heatwaves are killing scores of people and impacting crop cycles and yields on a regular basis. This year, both largest city Karachi and capital city Islamabad experienced devastating floods. Furthermore, the 806-kilometre (500-mile) Karakoram Highway, which is a critical part of Pakistan’s economic corridor with China, was shut down multiple times, for multiple days, due to landslides.

These devastating landslides were a direct result of large-scale deforestation in the area north of Kohistan and south of Jaglot. Further north towards Shimshal and east towards the Skardu Valley, timber mafias are rapidly stripping old-growth forests, all but guaranteeing future environmental catastrophes.

Local and international environmental experts have long been warning that, without urgent and drastic action, things will get worse – both in Pakistan and wider South Asia. They have been warning for over a decade that Pakistan’s glaciers are melting and it is only a matter of time before the country runs out of water. Now the IPCC is saying the same in no uncertain terms.

Despite mounting evidence of a growing crisis, however, the Pakistani state is refusing to act.

There are several local initiatives to understand and address the impact of climate change on the region, such as those of the Shimshal Trust. But these efforts often face obstructions by the state and the military, who do not want environmental considerations and conservation projects to limit their control over strategic regions near the country’s borders with China and India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan announced, at the beginning of his term in 2018, the Million Tree Plantation Drive to counter the effects of ongoing deforestation and climate change on the country. This, however, is akin to adding a fourth wheel to a tricycle and hoping it will eventually transform into a driverless electric car. No amount of new tree planting can replace old-growth forests. This is just a fact. The ancient alpine and conifer forests quite literally hold the ecology of northern Pakistan – its glaciers, rivers, and fertile valleys – together. They have taken millennia to grow and stabilise. They are irreplaceable.

Today, Pakistan is facing an existential crisis. The effects of climate change are not threatening a single sector or region of the country, but the lives and livelihoods of its entire population. As this year’s IPCC report underlined, we are, sadly, already too late to reverse the damage caused by the rampant consumption of fossil fuels. The choice we are facing now – in Pakistan and around the world – is to continue on a path to certain destruction, or start fighting for our collective survival.

See the 42 biggest asteroids in our solar system in stunning detail

By Georgina Torbet

October 17, 2021

Far out on the border of the outer solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter lies the asteroid belt, where hundreds of thousands of small objects orbit the sun. Most of these objects are small rocky asteroids, but some are known to be 60 miles or larger across. Now, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released images of 42 of the largest asteroids in the belt, showing their variety of sizes and shapes.

The asteroids were imaged using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, marking the most detailed observation of many of these bodies to date. They include well-known bodies like the dwarf planet Ceres, the metal asteroid Psyche, and asteroid Vesta, which was visited by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft in 2011. But they also include lesser-known oddities like the bone-shaped Kleopatra or the flattened, elongated Sylvia.
\

This poster shows 42 of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter (orbits not to scale).

ESO/M. Kornmesser/Vernazza et al./MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA/CNRS)

“Only three large main belt asteroids, Ceres, Vesta, and Lutetia, have been imaged with a high level of detail so far, as they were visited by the space missions Dawn and Rosetta of NASA and the European Space Agency, respectively,” said lead author of the study, Pierre Vernazza of the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille in France, in a statement. “Our ESO observations have provided sharp images for many more targets, 42 in total.”

These images have been captured with the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope as part of a program that surveyed 42 of the largest asteroids in our Solar System. They show Ceres and Vesta, the two largest objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, approximately 940 and 520 kilometers in diameter.

ESO/Vernazza et al./MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA/CNRS)

By looking at the shapes of the asteroids, which range in size from Ceres at 580 miles across to Urania and Ausonia at 56 miles across, the researchers were able to classify them into two groups: The nearly perfectly spherical and the elongated. They also found significant variability in the density of the asteroids, which suggests that they are not all composed of the same material.

This means that the asteroids may have been formed in different locations and migrated toward the asteroid belt over time. Some of the bone-shaped asteroids may even have formed as far away as beyond the orbit of Neptune before ending up in the asteroid belt.

The researchers now want to continue studying the asteroids in the belt using the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This more powerful telescope could also enable them to see even more distant objects in our solar system, like those in the remote Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune.

A visit to the barber can do wonders for men's mental health

Talking over issues can help people feel like they are part of a community

I CAN ATTEST TO THE TRUTH OF THIS

OMAR AL OWAIS

Michael Kovrig, after returning home to Canada, poses inside during a hair cut at Kingston Barber Shop in Toronto, Canada, September 27. Reuters

“Do you believe life is hard or easy?” was a question I included in all my recent conversations. I’m not sure what made me ask my barber Zak that question. I am usually reserved and don’t talk much at the barbershop – for fear of distracting Zak. But leaving his shop that day, I felt enriched by what Zak had to offer.

The exchange with him was energetic. It reminded me of a barbershop model for health promotion in the US, among African American communities, being used to advocate for the mental health of African American men. A study was conducted at a barbershop in Durham, North Carolina, where the staff were tested on their knowledge of mental health and willingness to start a conversation with customers on the topic. The study found that the barbers expressed increased confidence in sharing knowledge on mental health, as well as in sharing mental health resources with customers.

The key determinants of the success of this study is that vital mental health support and resources are disseminated in an area where men congregate to get their hair cut, and also by people who are perceived to be trustworthy. Additionally, the barbers would discretely provide to customers the quick response or QR codes to web-based resources such as ADAAM (Against Depression in African American Men). This dynamic strengthens the roles of barbers as mental health advocates within their communities

.
Kenyan barber Barkat Manji (L) gives a haircut to a client inside his recently acquired Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van that he converted into a mobile barbershop, outside his barbershop branch in Nairobi, Kenya, 05 October. EPA

A successful example of what barbershops can do for the community can be exemplified by The Confess Project, a barbershop movement in the US aiming at alleviating the mental health culture within African American communities through capacity building, advocacy, organising and movement building.

The Confess Project trains barbers to become mental health advocates within their communities throughout America. Through their knowledge-based approach The Confess Project is breaking the barriers associated with men’s mental health and building on pre-existing relationships between barbers and their clients.

The training these barbers undergo creates a ripple effect among the customers and their communities. The barbers are trained to become mental health advocates though four main pillars: active listening, validation, positive communication and reducing the stigma.

Perhaps what makes the barbershop model for health promotion successful in the earlier examples is that the barbers and customers are from the same communities, and share similar experiences, which bridge the communication gap and foster a deeper sense of interpersonal understanding and compassion. But there’s much value to be gained by implementing this model in our neighbourhood barbershops.

I spoke to my peers about the roles of barbers in shaping our understanding of mental health. Most of my peers are from similar socioeconomic backgrounds and have an undergraduate education. A common theme among them is that they do engage in conversations with their barbers on some personal matters, they do go to the same barber repeatedly, and are more likely to do so if the barber is closer in age and speaks a common language.

Further research must be conducted to understand the extent to which the barbershop model for mental health promotion would work here in the UAE. While African American and Arab communities do not share lived experiences, the stigma on men’s mental health is globally lived.

Echoing an article I wrote last October, while depression affects more women than it does men, suicide takes more men's lives. Additionally, men-specific depression screenings must be streamlined due to the role that gender role socialisation has on how men perceive their own depression, and that of their peers.

A recent study, on masculinity and help seeking, finds that the majority of interviewees trivialised their symptoms as temporary phases and attempted to solve their challenges on their own before seeking professional help. They were largely influenced by societal norms ascribing a rigid and limiting definition of strength and manliness that resulted in the deterioration of their mental health, and feelings of inadequacy in relation to their gender roles.

Moreover, the study’s participants expressed a lack of empathy and support from family members and peers to their depression diagnosis.

It is quite concerning that men and depression are perceived to be mutually exclusive, that strength and weakness are rigidly defined and unconsciously followed. Another study, in 2011, found that men are more likely to prolong seeking professional help, to associate emotional challenges with stress and difficulties at work and to negatively act out to them rather than express and communicate them.

Further research must be conducted to understand the realities of depression among men in this region, but a study conducted among male and female patients of cardiovascular diseases in Qatar echoes that attitudes of personal failure and weakness to be associated with mental health and depression.

As October 10 marks World Mental Health Day, we must amplify our voices in advocating for men’s mental health, our resources in improving the existing literature, and our hearts, in supporting our fathers, sons, brothers and friends.

Updated: October 10th 2021

Omar Al Owais  was a 2019-20 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow in the UAE

Jailed Turkish philanthropist awaits his fate under Erdogan's wrath

Issued on: 17/10/2021 -

Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala faces a barrage of charges, including espionage and attempts to topple the state Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP

Istanbul (AFP)

Jailed without a conviction since 2017, Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala says he feels like a tool in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attempts to blame a foreign plot for domestic dissent against his mercurial rule.

A gaunt and bearded intellectual who once patronised culture and the arts, the 64-year-old Kavala makes a striking foil for Erdogan, a promoter of political Islam who has governed Turkey with an increasingly iron fist since 2003.

While tens of thousands have been jailed or stripped of their jobs on tenuous charges since Erdogan survived a coup attempt in 2016, it is Parisian-born Kavala whose fate is creating particular tensions in Turkey's frayed ties with the West.

The Council of Europe, a human rights body Turkey joined in 1950, has warned it could launch the first infringement preceedings against Ankara if Kavala is not released by the end of the month.

Facing a barrage of alternating charges, including espionage and attempts to topple the state, Kavala does not expect to walk out of his Istanbul prison cell any time soon.

"I think the real reason behind my continued detention is that it addresses the need of the government to keep alive the fiction that the (2013) Gezi protests were the result of a foreign conspiracy," Kavala said in a written, English-language response to questions from AFP.

"Since I am accused of being a part of this conspiracy allegedly organised by foreign powers, my release would weaken the fiction in question and this is not something that the government would like."

Philanthropist Osman Kavala says he does not expect to walk free any time soon Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP

- 'Dreyfus and the Rosenbergs' -

Kavala was referring to spontaneous rallies that broke out against plans to pave over a little park near Istanbul's Taksim Square that morphed into the first serious challenge to Erdogan's rule.

Some Turkey watchers see the 2013 protests, which were violently suppressed, as the original source of Erdogan's authoritarian streak.

Kavala was acquitted of the Gezi charges in February 2020, only to be re-arrested before he could return home and thrown back in jail over alleged links to the 2016 coup plot.

Well-versed in history, Kavala compares the current case against him to the treason charges faced by French captain Alfred Dreyfus in the late 1800s -- long discredited as an anti-Semitic plot -- and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a US couple controversially executed for espionage in 1953.

"I suppose that the files on Dreyfus and the Rosenbergs were better prepared than mine," Kavala said.

Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala was acquitted in 2020, only to be re-arrested before he could return home over alleged links to a 2016 coup plot 

Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP

If convicted, he could be jailed for life without the possibility of parole.

- 'Political benefits' -

The Council of Europe has issued a final warning to Turkey to comply with a 2019 European Court of Human Rights order to release Kavala pending trial.

If not disciplinary proceedings could be launched and ultimately result in the suspension of Turkey's voting rights and even membership of the body.

But while such a step could further hurt Turkey's efforts to join the EU, Erdogan has given no indication that his views on Kavala have changed.

He calls him the "red Soros of Turkey" -- an agent of Hungarian-born US financier and pro-democracy campaigner George Soros -- a reference to Kavala's leftist views.

Kavala considers the Council of Europe his best hope for release.

"If the infringement procedure starts and if the damage this would cause is considered to outweigh whatever political benefits are expected from my continued detention, I might perhaps be released," he said.

President Erdogan calls Kavala 'the red Soros of Turkey', an agent of Hungarian-born US financier and pro-democracy campaigner George Soros 

Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP

- Eyeing 2023 -

Much of the focus in Turkey is shifting to June 2023, the last date by which Erdogan -- with approval ratings already at the lowest point of his career -- must call a general election.

Kavala, who has access to newspapers and a TV in his cell, watches the latest political developments with concern, questioning whether Erdogan is ready to accept a possible election defeat.

Erdogan and his ruling party "do not consider losing power as a normal consequence of economic problems and political competition," he said.

"They perceive a change of government as an extremely disturbing possibility.

"I am concerned that the political tension in the country might increase even more as the elections approach."

Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala says he believes his best hope for release is through the Council of Europe 

Handout Anadolu Culture Center/AFP

Kavala's next court hearing is scheduled for November 26.

© 2021 AFP

What hope is left for Turkish political prisoner Osman Kavala?

The businessman and philanthropist has been acquitted and re-arrested on spurious charges. Is it possible to free him?

DAVID LEPESKA

A poster featuring jailed businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala in 2018. AFP

To describe Osman Kavala’s journey into the Turkish justice system as Kafkaesque would be paying a compliment to the great Czech novelist.

Authorities first detained the businessman and philanthropist at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport in October 2017 as he returned from the south-eastern city of Gaziantep, where he had begun work on a project to help Syrian refugees.

Two weeks later, he was officially arrested on suspicion of attempting to overthrow the government by leading the Gezi Park protests of mid-2013, and also on suspicion of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order by taking part in a July 2016 coup attempt. Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) tends to view the former as a sort of trial run for the latter, and labels anybody linked to either as a terrorist.

In February 2019, after 15 months of detention, Mr Kavala was finally indicted on the first count. A year later, an Istanbul court acquitted him of those Gezi-linked charges. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan quickly denounced that decision, and Mr Kavala was re-arrested and indicted in connection to the failed coup. He was acquitted on this charge the next month and again ordered to be released, but the court instead added a new charge of espionage, again linked to the failed coup, and Mr Kavala stayed in prison.

By this time the indictment against him ran to several hundred pages and hinged on random moments such as who he bumped into at an Istanbul restaurant. Despite the European Court of Human Rights (part of the Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member) repeatedly finding no evidence to support the charges and calling for his immediate release, Turkish courts repeatedly approved Mr Kavala’s detention. In January 2021, an appellate court overturned the Gezi acquittal and that indictment was added to his espionage case.

The latest twist came this August. A Turkish court linked Mr Kavala’s Gezi-espionage case to a separate trial involving Carsi, the leading fan group of Istanbul football club Besiktas. Carsi members played a key role in the Gezi protests, but like Kavala they had previously been acquitted of any Gezi-linked crimes.

If all this has left you dizzy, you are not alone. Amnesty International has called Mr Kavala’s case a “shocking disregard for fair trial procedures”. Yet this three-legged trial resumed at Istanbul’s vast hall of justice last Friday, where a panel of judges called, yet again, for Mr Kavala to remain in custody.

From his cell in Silivri prison, 40km west of Istanbul, the prisoner issued a searing statement. “What is striking about the charges brought against me is not merely the fact that they are not based on any evidence. They are allegations of a fantastic nature based on conspiracy theories overstepping the bounds of reason,” he said, adding that many of his co-defendant Besiktas fans had no idea who he was. “The joinder with the Carsi case makes this even more surreal. When asked, ‘Do you know Osman Kavala?’ a supporter asked, ‘Which club does he play for?’”

2013's Gezi Park protests in Istanbul were a seminal moment for popular movements opposed to Turkey's President. AFP

If Kavala's case has left you dizzy, you are not alone

Few could have foreseen all this for Mr Kavala, who turned 64 last week. Having built their fortune in tobacco, his family moved from the Greek port city of Kavala to Istanbul in the population exchange of 1923. When his father died in 1982, Osman broke off his doctorate studies in New York City to take the reins of the family business.

He expanded into publishing, then environmental and civic activism. He founded Anadolu Kultur, an organisation that develops civic collaborations, such as a vast arts centre in the majority-Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, and cultural preservation projects for Yazidis, Armenians and other minorities.

In 2008, he founded a Turkish chapter of the Open Society Foundation, the global pro-democracy organisation of Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros. It is this move, in addition to his prominent place among the country’s liberal elite, which seems to have put Mr Kavala in the authorities’ crosshairs. Turkey’s President has described him as a terror financier backed by “the famous Hungarian Jew Soros”. Asli Aydintasbas of the European Council on Foreign Affairs has described Mr Kavala’s case as a personal “vendetta” that is “unnecessarily cruel”.

Vendettas do make headlines. A recent study found more than 1,700 news articles on Mr Kavala's case over the past four years, in more than 40 countries. Yet his is merely the most prominent of hundreds of thousands of ongoing prosecutions in Turkey linked to the failed 2016 coup, the Gezi protests or other activist movements. Turkish courts are overwhelmed with such cases, and since thousands of judges were dismissed in post-coup purges, many are overseen by young, inexperienced judges.

Most appear to be susceptible to political pressure and thus lean toward guilty verdicts. As a result, Turkey’s prison population is today by far the highest among the 47 members of the Council of Europe. Nearly 1 per cent of Turkish citizens are in prison, compared to less than 0.27 per cent across Europe. The number of university-graduate prisoners has also increased sharply, from 4,400 in 2012 to more than 20,000 in 2019, suggesting increased politicisation. And despite a troubled economy, Turkey’s government has, since the failed 2016 coup, spent $1.4 billion on more than 130 new prisons, nearly doubling incarceration capacity from 180,000 to 320,000.

Next week, Mr Kavala will mark four years of incarceration, despite never having been convicted of a crime. The chances that he might soon gain his freedom remain slim, but one recent development may boost those odds. The Council of Europe last month warned that if Turkey fails to heed the European Court of Human Rights’ legally binding calls to release Mr Kavala, it will begin infringement proceedings.

The Council’s harshest enforcement mechanism was created in 2010 and could lead to the suspension of Turkey’s membership. It has been used just once before. In late 2017, the Council launched proceedings against Azerbaijan, another member state, for its detention of politician Ilgar Mammadov. Eight months later, Mr Mammadov was a free man.

Published: October 10th 2021, 8:00 AM

David Lepeska   a veteran journalist who has reported widely across the region and contributed to top outlets including the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic, is the Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean affairs columnist for The National

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The Beirut blast probe needs to go on – and the world can help

Iranian-backed elements trying to scuttle the Beirut blast probe must be held to account

RAGHIDA DERGHAM
Published: October 16th 2021


Demonstrators wave Lebanese flags during protests near the site of a blast at Beirut's port area. Reuters

It is welcome news that Iran wants to restore ties with Saudi Arabia, and that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are reaching out to Tehran to urge it to play a constructive role in ending the war in Yemen. The Saudi-Iranian talks in Iraq must also continue beyond the recent fourth round, with the aim being to begin a new chapter in Arab-Iran relations. One can only hope that these developments mark a serious and positive shift for the region.

However, the policy being pursued by the world’s major powers of separating the start-stop Vienna talks to strike a new nuclear deal with Iran from its destabilising activities in the Arab world will continue to have profound implications for the region. Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen are all run by weak governments, with Tehran-sponsored proxies wielding outsized influence in all three countries.

Last week’s parliamentary election in Iraq produced a surprising outcome, with Iran-backed political parties faring poorly – and, therefore, revealing the resentment ordinary Iraqis bear towards the neighbouring country’s influence in their affairs. The announcement of the results was followed by threats from Tehran’s allies to undo the results, thereby risking a security crisis in the country. It also proved that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in charge of Tehran’s overseas military activities – and which has been emboldened by the global powers’ decision to isolate the nuclear talks from Iran’s regional activities – does not have a stomach for genuine elections.

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It is a similar story in Lebanon. Believing that it doesn't need to account for its destabilising activities there, Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, is working hard to undermine the judiciary’s remit to deliver justice, in cases in which the group is implicated. It is currently trying to derail the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port explosion that left more than 200 people dead and over 7,000 injured. It has even threatened to topple the newly installed federal government if the latter refuses to give in to its diktats. Such an outcome could lead to street battles in a country that continues to have strong memories of its 15-year civil war, even though it ended more than three decades ago.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement party, its ally in Parliament, are targeting Tarek Bitar, the judge probing the port blast by accusing him of politicising the investigation, simply because he has refused to tolerate their interference. Both parties have targeted other officials in similar fashion before, but this time, they are doing so feeling confident that no foreign power will do anything to intervene, beyond making denunciations.

It is increasingly evident that Hezbollah wants to shut down the probe into the August 2020 blast, which has a complicated backstory allegedly involving corrupt politicians, international shell companies and – most crucially – Hezbollah, which controlled the port at the time of the explosion.

Many questions over the explosion remain unanswered: was it an act of terror or simply an accident? Either way, how did it happen and who was responsible for it? The investigation has yet to arrive at any conclusions, because the judiciary has so far been hamstrung by Hezbollah’s politicking and, allegedly, due to a lack co-operation from other countries. Again, the question is why.

One theory is that illicit imports and exports were transiting through the Beirut Port to and from Syria and Iran. Could these products have included chemicals, spare parts, chips and electronics, or any sensitive material that Tehran would need for its nuclear and missile development programmes? Any evidence to back such claims would set not only the Vienna talks back but also the prospect of the US lifting its sanctions on Iran. Mr Bitar’s investigation, it seems, has been a source of great discomfort to Hezbollah and its patrons in Tehran.

What gives Hezbollah some of its clout, which it uses to try and push officials around, is its alliance with Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement party. Mr Aoun currently finds himself having to choose between yielding to Hezbollah's demands and listening to his own political base, which seems increasingly impatient with the slow pace of the investigation.

Michel Aoun is not a victim who lacks agency. He can act in Lebanon’s interest

Mr Aoun, however, is not a victim who lacks agency. He can act in Lebanon’s interest by upholding the principle of the separation of powers. He must show wisdom and courage based on a profound reading of the outcome of his party’s alliance with Hezbollah, which has allowed the latter to seize key levers of the Lebanese state, put the presidency in an awkward spot, and threaten to pull down the government.

The president can take positive action by permitting Mr Bitar to question Maj Gen Tony Saliba, the head of state security. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, meanwhile, can ask the interior ministry to allow Mr Bitar to question Maj Gen Abbas Ibrahim, the head of general security. By doing so, both the president and prime minister can prove they are protectors of the judiciary and can, thereby, set a positive example for other leaders.

The current crisis in Lebanon is one involving the purportedly independent judiciary on the one side and the political class that considers itself above the law on the other. Internal matter or not, however, the international community must throw its support behind the judiciary. For, this branch of the government is in grave danger and its officials need international backing and protection. The US and the European powers, led by France, can move to deploy sanctions against those mutinying against the judiciary, as the Lebanese security services fail to act fearing political recriminations.

Failing to do so will give Hezbollah – with support from Tehran – and Amal the space to do what they can to foil the investigation. The fate of the court case could prove consequential for Lebanese politics and the stakes Hezbollah, and by extension Iran, will continue to have in it.

Raghida Dergham  is the founder and executive chairwoman of

the Beirut Institute and a columnist for The National (UAE)

LEBANESE CHRISTIANS REMEMBER PORT BLAST