Turkey has defended its handling of the case against philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to life in prison for “attempting to overthrow the government.”
In its submission, the government argued that Kavala’s trial was not politically motivated, according to reporting from the T24 news site.
The Justice Ministry, through the Foreign Ministry, submitted its defense to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of ECtHR rulings. The ministry claimed that Kavala had not exhausted all domestic legal remedies before appealing to the ECtHR. It noted that a new application was pending before Turkey’s Constitutional Court, and until that process concluded, appealing to the ECtHR would be premature.
“Kavala’s application to the ECtHR is inadmissible due to his failure to exhaust domestic remedies,” the statement read, noting that the current case before the Constitutional Court had yet to be resolved and the delays were reasonable due to the court’s workload.
Osman Kavala submits new appeal seeking retrial
Turkey also blamed the ECtHR for its failure to act on its own rulings. According to Turkish authorities, the ECtHR’s initial ruling was related to Kavala’s pretrial detention, which ended before the court’s judgment. They noted that after being released on one charge, Kavala was immediately detained on a separate espionage charge, which remains under investigation.
The submission emphasized that Kavala's current detention is not connected to the original charges ruled on by the ECtHR. “The reason for his detention is related to espionage charges under Article 328 of the Turkish Penal Code, not the charges from the previous case,” the defense stated.
Judicial independence and government influence
The government also addressed concerns about the neutrality of the judiciary, responding to allegations that the trial’s outcome was influenced by political pressure. Turkey refuted claims that disciplinary investigations into judges who previously acquitted Kavala had impacted the fairness of the trial.
“The disciplinary investigations had no bearing on the criminal proceedings and did not violate the right to an independent trial,” the defense argued.
Concerns were also raised about one of the judges in the case, who had previously been affiliated with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The authorities rejected these claims, insisting that there was no evidence of bias or loss of judicial independence.
Regarding statements made by Turkish government officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which were seen as potentially influencing the judiciary, Turkey argued that these statements did not violate the presumption of innocence, as they did not directly assert Kavala's guilt.
Background
Osman Kavala, a prominent figure in civil society, was arrested in November 2017. Initially charged with financing the countrywide anti-government protests in 2013, known as the Gezi Park protests, he was acquitted in early 2020. However, he wasn’t released due to an order for his arrest related to the 2016 coup attempt. Later, his acquittal in the Gezi case was overturned. After the retrial, Kavala was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in 2022 for attempting to overthrow the government.
The ECtHR had ruled in 2019 that Kavala’s detention was politically motivated and called for his immediate release. Turkey has not complied with this ruling, leading to the Council of Europe initiating infringement proceedings against the country.
The case has drawn widespread international attention, with human rights organizations and Western governments calling for Kavala's release and criticizing the Turkish judiciary for undermining the rule of law. (VK)