Kavala says ECHR decision will strengthen judges in Turkey

“The European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) decision in the Kavala case will strengthen the judges in Turkey who insist on abiding by the rule of law despite all pressure" said philanthropist Osman Kavala who was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly financing mass protests against the government. 

The ECHR on Monday decided that Turkey had not complied with a ruling that called for the release of Kavala, paving the way for Ankara's suspension from the Council of Europe (CoE).

“The ECHR, in its decision on 10 December 2019, ruled that my arrest was not based on concrete evidence and that I was arrested for political purposes. This decision clearly revealed that the existing laws are used arbitrarily with political motives” Kavala said, in a note he sent from the Silivri Prison. 

Ankara risks rejection from the Council of Europe (CoE) after this decision, said Riza Turmen, a former Turkish judge of the ECHR.

“The Committee of Ministers of the CoE will probably get in touch with Turkey once again, asking the country to abide by the decision. Then they will start implementing the sanctions. We don’t know in what order the sanctions will come, because this is unprecendent. But we know what will happen at the last stop. The last stop is removal from membership” he said.