On 18 October 2017 Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala was arrested without charge at Istanbul Atatürk Airport when returning from a meeting in Gaziantep. On 4 March 2019, more than 500 days later, during which Kavala remained imprisoned, a criminal indictment seeking life imprisonment for Kavala and 15 other people, including journalist Can Dündar and actor Memet Ali Alabora, was accepted by the Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court.
