Amnesty International reiterates its call for the immediate release of Osman Kavala

Amnesty International urged Turkey to immediately release Osman Kavala, following the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) Monday ruling over the jailed philanthropist’s continued imprisonment, condemning Turkey for not complying with its 2019 decision.

Calling Kavala a "prisoner of conscience," Julia Hall, Deputy Director for Research at Amnesty International’s Europe office said this ruling shames Turkey’s authorities.

“Today’s ruling lays bare yet again the failure of the government to abide by a legally binding obligation,” she said.

The ECHR Grand Chamber ruled against Turkey in Kavala case by an overwhelming majority of votes (16-1) on Monday, in line with the Council of Europe’s (CoE) infringement process, determining whether Turkey has failed to fulfill its obligation to implement the Court’s judgment in the case, under the European Convention on Human Rights as a CoE member.

Grand Chamber judgment on Turkiye’s compliance with the Court’s ruling in the case of Mr Kavalahttps://t.co/Mrau2JTMKN#ECHR #CEDH #ECHRpress pic.twitter.com/HJB5y1xKZ7

— ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) July 11, 2022

The CoE that begun disciplinary proceedings against Turkey over the Kavala case last year, referred the country back to the ECHR Grand Chamber regarding its refusal to implement ECHR’s December 2019 judgement that was calling for the release of jailed philanthropist, stating that his arrest was politically motivated. The ECHR on Monday said Turkey had not complied with its previous ruling on the case. Court’s decision is paving the way for Ankara's suspension from the CoE.

“Kavala’s case is emblematic of the clampdown on civil society and the rollback in human rights protections that affects everyone in Turkey. If Turkey persists in its stubborn refusal to release Osman Kavala, it will further debase itself as one of the Council of Europe’s founding members. The Council of Europe, its member states and the European Union must urge Turkey to finally free Osman Kavala and the many others detained in similar circumstances,” Hall said.

Following CoE’s referring Kavala case back to ECHR in February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not comply with the ECHR’s judgements and will not respect the Council of Europe’s (CoE) decisions. 

Kavala who was held in prison since 2017, was sentenced to life in April for attempting to overthrow the government.