Osman Kavala's request for a retrial has been denied once again by the Justice Ministry.
Kavala, a human rights defender and philanthropist, had sought a retrial based on what his defense argued were significant procedural violations and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings, which highlighted the arbitrary nature of his detention and called for his immediate release. Turkish courts have so far defied this decision.
Kavala was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2022 on charges of attempting to overthrow the government during the 2013 Gezi Park protests. His legal team submitted the request for a retrial, arguing that the shift to an executive presidential system in Turkey had rendered previous charges against him obsolete, as the office of the prime minister, the supposed victim of the crime, was abolished in the 2017 referendum.
The ministry’s General Directorate of Criminal Affairs dismissed the retrial request, stating that the decision of the İstanbul court was appropriate considering the context and evidence of the case. The court noted that the arguments for retrial had already been presented and dismissed during previous appeal processes, thus upholding the initial verdict.
Osman Kavala's imprisonment
Businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala was detained on October 18, 2017, in an investigation into the 2013 Gezi Park protests. He was arrested on November 1 and placed in the Marmara (Silivri) Prison.
The justification for his arrest was his alleged attempt to 'overthrow the government' in the context of the Gezi protests and his alleged attempt to 'overthrow the constitutional order' in the context of the July 15 coup attempt.
He was acquitted in the Gezi Trial on February 18, 2020. However, he was not released. On the day of his acquittal, he was re-arrested on charges of attempting to 'overthrow the constitutional order.’ On March 9, 2020, he was arrested again under the same trial, this time on charges of 'political or military espionage'.
The acquittal decision in the Gezi trial was overturned, and he was retried. On April 25, 2022, he was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'attempting to overthrow the government'. The appeals court upheld the decision.
Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in its decision of December 10, 2019, determined that Osman Kavala's detention was arbitrary and based on political motives. Therefore, it ruled that Osman Kavala should be released immediately.
Due to Osman Kavala not being released in accordance with this decision, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe initiated a 'violation procedure' against Turkey.
In its decision on July 11, 2022, the ECtHR Grand Chamber ruled that "[the decision of December 10, 2019] regarding Kavala, which found a violation of Article 5 in connection with Article 18 of the ECtHR, would render any action based on accusations related to the Gezi Park events and the coup attempt null and void."
However, courts ignored and did not implement the legally binding nature of these two decisions.
(EMK/VK)