How does the international community see Osman Kavala’s imprisonment?

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Ahead of the Gezi Retrial on October 8, the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) has analyzed how the continued imprisonment of businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala has been received by the international community and press.

Prepared by Sinan Ülgen and summarizing the effects of Kavala's arrest on the international community and press, the report has commented that "the international community has got the impression that Turkey has diverged from the norms of rule of law in the Osman Kavala case."

For the research, the EDAM scanned the international press via NEXIS app and found 1,732 publications on Kavala since 2017.

The EDAM report has shown that the countries where the highest numbers of news were reported about Osman Kavala were Germany (with 588 reports), France (with 328 reports), the United Kingdom / UK (with 299 reports) and the United States / US (with 133 reports).

One of the striking findings of the research is that the news reports on Osman Kavala are not limited to European countries. On the contrary, at least one publication about Kavala was encountered in 42 different countries, including the vast majority of G20 countries and the BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and Republic of South Africa.

While Osman Kavala was covered in 44 news reports in Thailand, he was reported in 27 news articles in Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia and Iran were also among the countries where at least one news report was published about Osman Kavala.

In other words, the Osman Kavala case has been covered by journalists in all continents across the world.

Highest number of news by BBC

When the news reports on the case are analyzed by media outlets, a significant diversity is witnessed there as well. According to the report, 143 different media outlets reported on the case over the years.

Of these media outlets, BBC has come to the fore with the highest number of news/ commentaries with 165 articles.

Agence France Presse (AFP) follows BBC with 148 news/ commentaries while AFP is followed by Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) and France's Le Monde newspaper.

With 44 news reports/ commentaries, Thai News Service from Thailand is also high on the list alongside its western counterparts.

Rearrest after acquittal led to a record

Another striking finding of the report is the continuous interest of the international press in the Osman Kavala case.

While the issue was regularly reported in the press starting from September 2017, when Kavala was detained, the number of news reported about him reached a record high after he was acquitted in the Gezi trial on February 19, 2020, but was arrested again without being released from prison as part of an investigation over the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey.

6,500 statements by civil society

The EDAM report has also focused on how international organizations and civil society organizations responded to the Osman Kavala case. The report has shown that with over 6,500 statements and analyses, the international community has been following the case.

Among the related international organizations are prominent NGOs such as "Amnesty International" and "PEN International."

Turkey has lost its supporters

Covering the statements of prominent figures about the case as well, the report has cited the statements of concern and criticisms expressed by several people, including former President of Finland and Nobel laureate politician Martti Ahtisaari, known for his support for Turkey's EU accession negotiations, and former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt.

In the conclusion to his report, Ülgen has briefly commented:

"Regardless of its result, a strong opinion has emerged in the international community that Turkey has diverged from the norms of rule of law in the Osman Kavala case. This opinion inevitably has a negative impact on the commentaries in the international press about Turkey.

"Moreover, as indicated in this research, such publications are not limited to the Western press, but have become visible in several countries of the world. Therefore, in many aspects, it is considered that ensuring a process which is in compliance with international legal norms in the Osman Kavala case will be highly beneficial to eliminate this negative perception."

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.

(HA/SD)