4TH YEAR OF DETENTION

Turkey summons 10 ambassadors to Foreign Ministry over their statement on Kavala

10 embassies made a statement calling for Kavala’s release in the 4th year of his detention. Ministers and AKP politicians have denounced the statement while the AA has reported that the envoys have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry.

İstanbul

Turkey summons 10 ambassadors to Foreign Ministry over their statement on Kavala

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It has been four years since the businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala was detained in Turkey.

On this occasion, the embassies of 10 countries released a written statement calling for his release by specifically referring to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings about his case.

In their joint statement, the embassies of Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America (USA) briefly said:

Today (October 18) marks four years since the ongoing detention of Osman Kavala began. The continuing delays in his trial, including by merging different cases and creating new ones after a previous acquittal, cast a shadow over respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judiciary system.

The embassies also expressed their belief that "a just and speedy resolution to his case must be in line with Turkey's international obligations and domestic laws." Referring to the rulings of the ECtHR on the matter, the embassies called on Turkey to secure Osman Kavala's urgent release.

Ministers, AKP criticize the statement

Shortly after this statement was shared with the public, some ministers and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) politicians have denounced it. The state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) has reported that the ambassadors of the 10 countries have been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey over their statement calling for Osman Kavala's release.

The ambassadors are expected to be at the Foreign Ministry in the morning hours today (October 19), the AA has reported further.

In a message about the statement, Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop has indicated that "while the Constitution has forbidden asking questions or having debates on an ongoing case, the ambassadors of other countries' statement on how the court should rule steps out of bounds."

Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül has also said that "diplomats are duty bound to have respect for the judiciary of the country they are serving in."

"According to our Constitution, no ambassador can give advice to our courts or tell them to do anything. What casts a shadow on the rule of law is this presumption," Justice Minister Gül has added.

Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu has indicated that "Turkey is a democratic country based on the rule of law" and added that "it is unacceptable for the ambassadors to tell the Turkish judiciary what to do."

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik has also criticized the statement and said, "Statements by diplomats, who work in our country, to influence the Turkish judiciary are unacceptable." He has noted that "Turkey is a sovereign state of law and the Turkish judiciary is independent."

A brief summary of Osman Kavala's arrest

17 October 2017: Osman Kavala was detained.

1 November 2017: Kavala was ordered arrest on the charges of 'attempting to overthrow the government or to prevent it from exercising its functions' (Article 312 of the TCC) and 'attempting to overthrow the constitutional order through force and violence' (Article 309 of the TCC).

24 December 2018: The investigation files under Article 309 and 312 of the TCC were separated.

19 February 2019: The first indictment against Kavala was issued under Article 312 of the TCC 16 months after he was arrested.

11 October 2019: A release order was issued in favor of Kavala on the charge under Article 309 of the TCC.

10 December 2019: The ECtHR ruled that Kavala's detention constituted a violation of human rights and that he should be released immediately.

18 February 2020: A decision of acquittal was issued in the trial heard under Article 312 of the TCC.

19 February 2020: After the decision of acquittal, Kavala was not released but was arrested again on the charge under Article 309 of the TCC.

9 March 2020: Kavala was ordered arrest under Article 328 of the TCC.

20 March 2020: The second release order was issued in favor of Kavala under Article 309 of the TCC. However, his detention on the charge of espionage under Article 328 of the TCC continued.

3 September 2020: The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which oversees the execution of the judgments of the ECtHR, ruled that the judgment of the ECtHR should be executed and that Kavala should be released immediately.

29 September 2020: The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey decided to examine the application of Kavala regarding his unlawful detention. However, it postponed the examination as the second indictment including the charges under Articles 309 and 328 (espionage) of the TCC was submitted to the court on the same day.

29 September 2020: In the second meeting in which this matter was discussed, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ruled that an interim decision should be drafted to be issued in the event that the judgment of the ECtHR is not executed.

3 December 2020: The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued an interim decision that Kavala should be released immediately and that the Constitutional Court should examine the file in accordance with the judgment of the ECtHR without further delay.

15 December 2020: The Constitutional Court decided to examine the application regarding the unlawful detention and ruled that the file should be referred to the General Assembly of the Constitutional Court.

18 December 2020: The 36th Assize Court ruled that the detention shall continue. The second hearing was scheduled on 5 February.

29 December 2020: The Constitutional Court ruled with 8 to 7 votes that the decision of Kavala did not constitute any violation of right. The reasoned judgment included the strongly dissenting opinions of the judges who voted that the detention constituted a violation of rights.

22 January 2021: The Appellate Court overturned the decision of acquittal in the Gezi trial. It ruled that the file concerning this trial shall be examined together with the files under Articles 309 and 328 of the TCC.

28 January 2021: After the decision of acquittal was overturned, the 30th Assize Court issued a preliminary proceedings report and scheduled the trial concerning the consolidated files on 21 May 2021.

5 February 2021: In the trial heard in the 36th Assize Court, the Court ruled that Kavala's trial shall be consolidated with the Gezi Trial, which will be heard again in the 30th Assize Court under Article 312 of the TCC, and that the detention of Kavala on the charges of espionage under Article 328 of the TCC shall continue.

30 April 2021: As a result of its examination of the detention, the 30th Assize Court ruled that the detention of Kavala shall continue.

12 May 2021: In its weekly meeting of 12 May 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe reviewed Kavala's file and expressed their great concern that Turkish authorities and courts did not take the necessary steps to end Kavala's the continued detention against the judgment of the ECtHR. The Committee urged the member states to bring up the continued detention and immediate release of Kavala during their meetings with Turkish authorities. It pointed out that the detention of Kavala would be reviewed again by the 30th Assize Court on 21 May 2021, and urged the authorities to take all the necessary steps to ensure the release of Kavala.

CLICK - Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe: Release Demirtaş and Kavala

(KÖ/SD)