The European Commission said on Friday (December 3) that it would initiate disciplinary action for Turkey’s refusal to release the famous activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala (Osman Kavala), triggering a procedure that has only been used once in the organization’s history.
The Council of Ministers of the Pan-European Authority agreed with Turkey’s repeated refusal to comply with the European Court of Human Rights ruling on the release of Kavala from prison in 2019.
What followed was concern about human rights violations under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkish leaders have personally targeted Kavala in many speeches. Kavala has been in prison for more than four years and has never been convicted.
“Because of the failure to ensure that the applicant is released immediately, the Commission believes that Turkey has refused to comply with the court’s final judgment in this case,” the European Commission said.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday urged the European Commission not to act “out of respect for the ongoing judicial process” and warned that the process would “interfere” in its internal affairs.
Amnesty International’s European Director Niels Muzneks welcomed Turkey’s message on the case, saying it was “very clear”.
“Turkey’s failure to ensure the immediate release of Osman Kavala and end his politically motivated prosecution is an unacceptable violation of the country’s human rights obligations,” he said.
January deadline
This is only the second time the CoE has used a so-called infringement lawsuit against one of its 47 member states. The first was in 2017 against Azerbaijan’s refusal to release the dissident Ilgar Mammadov.
Mamadov was subsequently released from prison in August 2018, and the proceedings finally ended.
This procedure was created in 2010 to ensure full compliance with ECHR rulings, which are legally binding on member states and are not advisory in nature.
Turkey has been a member of COE since 1950, and like all member states, it is obliged to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights supervised by ECHR.
The decision of the Council of Ministers requires a two-thirds majority to pass, and Turkey is officially notified that its failure to release Kavala will be returned to the European Court of Human Rights.
The European Court of Human Rights will then decide whether Turkey’s failure to enforce its ruling further violates the Covenant of Rights.
The deadline for Turkey’s response is January 19, after which the Commission will submit the case to the European Court of Human Rights at its next meeting on February 2. The next hearing in the Kavala case is scheduled to be held in Istanbul on January 17.
The COE’s charter allows the suspension of member states’ voting rights in the Council of Ministers and even deportation as the final sanction. However, this process is far from reaching this stage, and there are mechanisms for resolving such disputes.
‘Attack on human dignity’
Kavala’s imprisonment has become one of the most representative cases in Turkey under Erdogan. Erdogan has ruled the country for the past two decades, but is now struggling with a severe economic crisis.
The 64-year-old Paris-born businessman helps fund civil society projects and is particularly committed to seeking reconciliation between Turkey and its neighboring Armenia, which has no diplomatic relations with Ankara.
Erdogan has repeatedly accused Kavala of being the agent of billionaire financier and pro-democracy activist George Soros in Turkey, and played a key role in the protests against the reconstruction of Istanbul Park in 2013, which made Turkish strongmen feel disturbed.
But Kavala rejected Erdogan’s “defamation” accusation, calling it an “attack on human dignity.”
Turkey’s refusal to release Kavala has also increased tensions with the West.
In October, 10 embassies, including France, Germany, and the United States, stated in an unusual statement that his continued detention “cast a shadow on Turkey’s democratic and judicial system.”
Erdogan subsequently threatened to expel 10 Western ambassadors, although he later withdrew from the operation.
Kavala is accused of funding anti-government protests in 2013 and played a role in the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. If convicted, he may face life imprisonment without parole.
