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Turkish court has ordered Osman Kavala to be jailed | Stories

Istanbul, Turkey – A court in Istanbul has ordered the continued detention of charity Osman Kavala, which could jeopardize Turkey-Europe relations.

The case was the first in a series of controversies over Turkey’s recent diplomatic crisis with Western organizations last month, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatening to remove 10 foreign ambassadors demanding Kavala’s release. .

Civil rights groups have condemned the arrest and trial of Kavala, 64, as baseless and politically motivated. The Turkish government has denied the allegations and ruled that Turkish courts are independent.

Friday’s ruling could jeopardize Turkey’s membership in the Council of Europe, which demands that Kavala be released following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The Istanbul Court will deliver the following case on January 17, 2022.

Turkey is a member of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and is bound by European law to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. But Ankara has not ignored a number of ECHR rules, including those relating to the release of Kavala and a politician affiliated with Kurdish Selahattin Demirtas.

Turkey is at risk of criminal violations

The Cabinet Committee, which oversees the implementation of the ECHR decisions, will meet from November 30 to December 2 in Strasbourg.

Andrew Cutting, spokesman for the Council of Europe, told Al Jazeera the committee’s decisions are expected to be published on December 3.

Cutting said the Cabinet committee should decide, by two-thirds, to put Turkey on notice that it wants to start a breach of the law, and then need an additional two-thirds vote to refer the case to the government. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has questioned whether Turkey has violated the Council of Europe’s human rights record by failing to comply with a court ruling.

Ayse Bugra, the wife of philanthropist Osman Kavala, speaks to reporters before the court after the trial of Kavala and 15 others on her role in the 2013 national demonstrations in Istanbul, Turkey, November 26, 2021 [Umit Bektas/Reuters]

At that time, Turkey could be the second country, after Azerbaijan, to face criminal charges in the Council of Europe.

Nacho Sánchez Amor, a reporter for the European Parliament in Turkey who has been in the past, told Al Jazeera that the court ruling in Kavala’s imprisonment hindered recent efforts to restore relations between the European Union and Turkey.

“Today has been Turkey’s last chance to comply with the Council of Europe, and I am disappointed that I would like to break the rules to avoid them,” he said.

“But it seems that in the meantime, after all [seeing] We also hope that the Cabinet Committee will find a way to open a decision on the violations of the Council of Europe rules.

Disruptive ties

Tensions between Turkey and several Western countries began last month when 10 Turkish ambassadors issued a statement demanding the immediate release of Kavala.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ambassadors were violating diplomatic orders and ordered his removal but later stopped threatening.

The dispute was resolved after a statement from the Western embassy stated that it would continue to operate in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

10 countries – US, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Finland – represent Turkey’s NATO allies and some of its major trading partners.

Erdogan called the conflict a victory for insistence on international neutrality, and urged aides to “be very careful now”.

Freedom groups reject the decision

Civil rights groups have also called on the Committee to take action against Turkey in the Kavala case.

“Osman Kavala’s detention has been further aggravated by unconstitutional laws and votes,” Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch wrote on Twitter on Friday, calling on the Cabinet to overthrow Turkey.

“[Turkey’s] Refusing to give a compelling ruling to the ECHR not only violates Osman Kavala’s freedom of conscience, but also threatens the fundamental human rights of all Europeans, “Nils Muiz, Regional Director for Europe at Amnesty International, wrote on Twitter.

“It is up to the member states of the Council of Europe to take action on this issue and to initiate criminal proceedings.”

‘There is no new evidence’

Kavala, 64, is well-known in Turkey for his work with civil society groups, including the Open Society Foundation, which was founded by its Turkish head. He was first arrested four years ago and charged in 2019 with being part of a gang that instigated Gezi Park protests in Istanbul in 2013. A Turkish court acquitted him in February 2020.

But the philanthropist was not released, and a few hours after his release, prosecutors filed a new lawsuit claiming he was part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government in 2016.

His case was later linked to that of 51 other accused in connection with the 2013 Electric Protests, who have been charged with multiple counts including espionage, belonging to a “terrorist” group, and attempting to overthrow the government. If found guilty, Kavala could face up to life in prison.

Kavala has denied the allegations, saying the allegations are “strange” and are not based on any evidence. He has refused to take part in further proceedings, and on Friday did not appear in court on video linking Silivri prison outside Istanbul where he is being held.

Lawyers, opposition lawmakers and aides gathered in front of Justice Palace, Caglayan Courthouse, as a Turkish court heard philanthropist Osman Kavala and 15 others. [Umit Bektas/Reuters]

Kavala’s lawyer, in his statement, said the reasons why the court detained him in prison were based on what was not enough to be mentioned in the trial.

Kavala is accused of plotting to overthrow the government in 2016 by Henry Barkey, an American student who is on trial for the same offense and denies the charges, based on cell phones indicating that the two were close. Security lawyers indicated that this did not indicate that the two had a telephone conversation, which Barkey said.

The court also ruled that Kavala had sponsored the 2013 protests in Gezi, which began as a protest rally against Taksim Square in Istanbul, and later grew into a major anti-government protest.

Kavala’s lawyers say a report released by a Turkish court from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board does not confirm any evidence of money being sent to protesters in Gezi Park.

“The facts in the case show that there is no new evidence given to a person who has been imprisoned for 4 years with the same charges, and that the evidence presented by the accused is not good enough to arouse suspicion,” the lawyers said in a statement.




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