The European Union attempted to condemn a Turkish court’s ruling of a life sentence on businessman Osman Kavala, but Hungary blocked a joint statement on the matter.
Kavala was convicted in Istanbul on Monday of trying to overthrow the Turkish government by providing financial assistance to the Gezi Park protests, then supporting a coup attempt.
Szabad Európa asked the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs why it had blocked the joint statement, and what the government’s view was on the Kavala judgment and the human rights situation in Turkey in general. The ministry responded in one sentence:
“Hungary does not qualify the judicial practices of other countries.”
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