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Human rights court convicts Turkey over Osman Kavala case
🇩🇪 Germany /Culture & Society

Human rights court convicts Turkey over Osman Kavala case

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has convicted Turkey for the trial and imprisonment of intellectual Osman Kavala.
  • Judges found Turkey aimed to silence Kavala, violating his right to a fair trial and raising doubts about judicial independence, demanding his immediate release.
  • This ruling follows a 2019 ECHR decision that Turkey also violated human rights and demanded Kavala's release, which Ankara ignored.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled against Turkey in the case of imprisoned intellectual Osman Kavala, stating his detention and trial constitute grave human rights violations. The Strasbourg-based court found that Turkey intended to silence Kavala and demanded his immediate release, deeming his conviction invalid.

The country wants to silence Kavala and demands the immediate release of the activist due to serious human rights violations.

— European Court of Human RightsStating the court's conclusion on Turkey's intentions and demanding Kavala's release.

Judges highlighted that Kavala's right to a fair trial was violated and expressed serious doubts about the independence of Turkish courts. Kavala, a cultural promoter, has been imprisoned since 2017 and was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2022 for attempting to overthrow the government, linked to the 2013 Gezi protests. The ECHR stated that Kavala merely exercised his rights to free expression and peaceful assembly, which were not respected by Turkey's arbitrary interpretation of its laws.

Kavala's right to a fair trial was violated and there are justified doubts about the independence of Turkish courts.

— European Court of Human RightsExplaining the legal basis for the ruling against Turkey.

The court also found Turkey in violation of the prohibition of inhuman treatment, as Kavala has no realistic prospect of release or legal review of his life sentence. This is not the first ruling against Turkey in this case; in December 2019, the ECHR had already found human rights violations and called for Kavala's immediate release from pre-trial detention, a demand Ankara disregarded. Kavala based his new complaint on events following the 2019 ruling.

The human rights activist merely exercised his right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

— European Court of Human RightsDescribing Kavala's actions in relation to the Gezi protests.

ECHR judgments are binding on Turkey as a member of the Council of Europe. Following a decision by Istanbul judges to keep Kavala in custody, the Council of Europe initiated a breach of treaty procedure against Turkey. The Council of Europe, comprising 46 member states, oversees human rights compliance and is separate from the EU. In a separate 2022 ruling, the ECHR ordered Turkey to pay Kavala 7,500 euros in compensation for disregarding the 2019 decision. Kavala reportedly refused the payment in protest.

Turkey also violates the prohibition of inhuman treatment, as Kavala has no real prospect of release or legal review of his life sentence.

— European Court of Human RightsDetailing further human rights violations found by the court.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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