Council of Europe to start proceedings against Turkey if philanthropist not freed (updated)
17/09/2021 15:48
(Updates with more reaction from Amnesty International)
By Ali Kucukgocmen
ISTANBUL, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Council of Europe said on
Friday it would begin infringement proceedings against member
state Turkey in November if philanthropist Osman Kavala is not
released from prison in accordance with a European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) ruling.
Osman Kavala, a businessman, has been in jail in Turkey
without conviction for nearly four years, charged with financing
nationwide protests in 2013 and for his alleged involvement in
an attempted coup in 2016. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2N8139 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2L335L
The ECHR said in 2019 that Kavala's detention was political,
calling for his immediate release. Turkey has not complied with
the ruling.
The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, which
oversees the implementation of ECHR's decisions, has repeatedly
called on Turkey to release Kavala in line with the court's
ruling.
Following this week's meeting, the committee said it would
vote at its next meeting at the end of November on whether to
formally notify Turkey that it intends to begin the infringement
procedure if Kavala is not released before then.
The next step in the process would involve referring to the
ECHR the question of whether Turkey has violated the European
Convention on Human Rights by not abiding by the court's final
judgment.
If the court finds a violation, the Committee of Ministers
can then begin considering which measures should be taken.
Turkey's membership or voting rights at the CoE could be
suspended at the end of the proceedings.
The ECHR delivered its first judgment in infringement
proceedings in 2019, as part of an earlier ruling that called on
Azerbaijan for the release of a politician.
"The Committee of Ministers of the CoE (is) very clear in
its latest Osman Kavala decision: free him immediately or face
infringement proceedings," said Milena Buyum, Turkey campaigner
for Amnesty International.
DEMIRTAS
Separately, the Committee of Ministers also reviewed the
case of Selahattin Demirtas, former head of Turkey's pro-Kurdish
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who has been jailed for nearly
five years. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MJ0LG
The ECHR ruled earlier this year that Demirtas was detained
without evidence to support reasonable suspicion, and that his
detention aimed to limit freedom of political debate.
The committee said on Thursday that Demirtas should be
released, a previous ruling against should be quashed and an
ongoing case against him should be dropped.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Ece Toksabay and
Angus MacSwan)
((ali.kucukgocmen@thomsonreuters.com , @alikucukgocmen;
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