Turkish Court Defies Wishes Of European Court Of Human Rights, And Rules To Keep Osman Kavala In Prison

Philanthropist and human rights activist, Osman Kavala, was told by a Turkish court on January 17 that he would be remaining in jail, where he has been detained since 2017. He was first incarcerated for allegedly financing the anti-government Gezi protests, and was acquitted of those charges in February 2020. However, the Turkish court overturned the ruling and chose to continue detaining him under additional charges of a coup attempt of which they allege his involvement in 2016. The actions were enacted despite the European Court of Human Rights urging to release him.

Kavala has long been involved in numerous civil society movements and projects, establishing multiple non-governmental organizations. Some include as the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats, and the History Foundation of Turkey. The Gezi protests of 2013 contested the urban development plan for Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park. The complaints ranged from environmental concerns to the authoritarianism of Turkish leader and president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his administration’s curbs on alcohol, and a recent disagreement about kissing in public.

Osman Kavala was outwardly in support of these protests and arrested under charges of financially supporting the demonstrations, in addition to charges for attempting to overthrow the Turkish government in 2016. Kavala denies all of the charges. In an interview with the Harvard Political Review, Kavala says claims that he organized and fiinanced the Gezi protests with George Soros, in order to overthrow the government. Although he was “openly sympathetic to the young activists” in Istanbul’s Gezi Park in 2013, who were protesting a government building project, Kavala insists that he “had nothing to do with organizing the protest and did not provide any financial support.”

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that Kavala’s rights had been violated and ordered his release. The court ruled there was not enough reasonable suspicion and that the Turkish court was merely trying to silence him. Still, Turkey has not complied. Kavala says that he has so little faith that the court will deliver him a fair trial, that he will not attend any of his hearings in the future. In the same Harvard Political Review interview, Kavala claimed that the judicial process was politicized “from the very beginning… and had no aim whatsoever to reveal the truth, the crime, or the criminal.” 

According to the Arab Weekly, Kavala’s case has also caused diplomatic tensions between Turkey and several other countries, including France and Germany, after they also called for his release. In order to prevent further damage to Turkey’s diplomatic relations with other countries, it is vital that they release Kavala from prison. It is also important that Turkey move in a more democratic direction in order to respond to the wishes of civilians, which will be difficult, as nearly all power in Turkey lies with its strict authoritarian leader.

An issue that is made even more evident through this series of events, is that the European Court of Human Rights holds little enforcement power when one of its member states does not comply with its rulings. It is encouraging that the Council of Europe told Turkey in December that it was beginning infringement proceedings, which could lead to financial penalties or potentially Turkey’s expulsion from the council. Other countries in the EU could bargain with Turkey by placing external pressure on them, in order to persuade them to follow the demands of the court, and protect the rights of Turkish citizens who speak out like Kavala, in the future. 

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