Turkey failed to comply with ruling to release Osman Kavala - ECHR

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided that Turkey had not complied with a ruling that called for the release of jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, paving the way for Ankara's suspension from the Council of Europe (CoE).

The CoE Committee of Ministers started infringement proceedings in February after a ruling by the ECHR had concluded that Kavala’s arrest was based on political motives calling for his immediate release.

A week after COE started the legal pursuit, Kavala was acquitted from the charge of ‘attempting to overthrow the Government’ in the context of 2013 Gezi Park protests, the case subject to the ECHR ruling.

But he was taken into custody and arrested again the same day, over an accusation of 'attempting to overthrow the constitutional order', this time in the context of the failed coup attempt of 15 July 2016.

In April an Istanbul court found Kavala guilty of this charge and sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment.

After the verdict, Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said that ECHR’s call for the release of Kavala was no longer valid as the Turkish court already reached a guilty verdict.

But Benan Molu, a human rights lawyer, said that "all the negative impacts of the detention needed to be removed for the ECHR ruling to be implemented and the violation to be fully lifted for the Council of Europe. "