Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday accused George Soros of aiding jailed Osman Kavala facing charges of seeking otherthrow the government, describing the Hungary-born American billionaire as a "famous Hungarian Jew".
Erdoğan suggested Soros had backed the Turkish financier Osman Kavala who organised civil society events and has been in prison for the last year awaiting trial.
In a speech to local officials, Erdoğan accused Kavala of financing the 2013 protests over the redevelopment of Gezi Park in Istanbul.
"There is a person who financed the terrorists in the Gezi events. Now he is behind bars," said Erdoğan, referring to Kavala without naming him.
"And who is behind him? The famous Hungarian Jew Soros. This person sends people across the world to divide and tear up nations and uses the large amount of money he possesses to this effect."
He described Kavala as the "representative in Turkey" of Soros and accused Kavala of "using his means to support those trying to tear up this country"
In the summer of 2013, a relatively small demonstration in Istanbul's Gezi Park grew into a nationwide wave of protests against the government that left eight protesters and a police officer dead.
