Liberal International will award its 2025 Prize for Freedom to jailed Turkish businessman and civil society figure Osman Kavala at a ceremony in Germany next month, Turkish Minute reported, citing Deutsche Welle’s Turkish service.
The award, presented annually by Liberal International, a London-based global federation of liberal democratic political parties and civic groups that works to promote democracy and human rights worldwide, will be awarded to Kavala at a ceremony in Berlin on May 4 in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
Kavala, who remains imprisoned in İstanbul’s Marmara Prison, is expected to be represented at the ceremony by his wife, Professor Ayşe Buğra.
Organizers said Kavala was being held unjustly and noted Buğra’s support for his longstanding work promoting justice, pluralism and democracy, according to DW.
Liberal International announced Kavala as this year’s recipient in November.
The annual award recognizes individuals who contribute to advancing human rights and political freedoms, often at significant personal risk.
Liberal International said Kavala was nominated jointly by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) of Germany and the German Group of Liberal International (DGLI).
Kavala, who has been in prison since 2017, was also awarded Germany’s Goethe Medal in 2025, a distinction honoring contributions to intercultural dialogue. Buğra accepted the award on his behalf at a ceremony in Weimar.
The founder of the Anadolu Kültür organization, Kavala has received widespread international recognition for his work in civil society and cultural dialogue.
He was sentenced in 2022 to aggravated life imprisonment over his alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, which began as a small demonstration against an urban development project in central İstanbul and evolved into nationwide anti-government protests.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in 2019 that Kavala’s detention was arbitrary and politically motivated and said in 2022 that Turkey had failed to comply with that judgment. His sentence was upheld in September 2023.
The court held a new hearing in Kavala’s case last month following a second application, with a ruling expected in the coming weeks.
In remarks published last week, Kavala sharply criticized arguments presented by a Turkish government lawyer at the ECtHR hearing, saying they reflected a “dangerous” theory of punishment resembling a Stalin-era conspiracy doctrine.
