ADDS European Parliament statement
A Turkish court on Friday ordered civil society leader Osman Kavala to remain in jail pending trial on charges that rights groups say are part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bid to stifle dissent.
The presiding judge rejected a defence request to release the 63-year-old -- in custody without a conviction for more than three years -- and set a trial date for February 5.
US academic Henri Barkey is being tried in absentia alongside Kavala in a case linked to the 2016 failed coup attempt against Erdogan.
"I have opposed military coups my entire life and have criticised the army's interference in politics," Kavala told the court by video link as his wife watched from the courtroom.