Türkiye reacts to European court’s decision in Kavala case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), with its decision in the Osman Kavala case, failed to meet Türkiye's expectations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"The ECtHR has unfortunately failed to meet our expectations by the decision announced today (11 July 2022) and once again called into question the credibility of the European human rights system," Tanju Bilgic, the ministry spokesperson, said in a statement.

In a statement, the ECtHR on Monday said: "Türkiye has failed to fulfill its obligation under Article 46 § 1 to comply with the judgment delivered on 10 December 2019, which called on the Government to end the applicant's detention and secure his immediate release."

Recalling Türkiye's expectation from the ECtHR to assess the matter "on a fair basis and not act as a first-instance court," Bilgic said: "We expect from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which will follow the process during the next stage, that it sets aside its previous biased and selective approach, acts in common sense and in avoiding certain circles' efforts to politicize the matter."

"Our communication with the CoE (Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe) continued throughout the process. Information has been provided on a regular basis by the Ministry of Justice on the developments in the judicial proceedings in respect of the applicant. Moreover, regarding his detention, the ECtHR and the CoE Committee of Ministers were also notified about the conviction of the applicant as a result of the domestic proceedings," Bilgic added.

Kavala faced charges over the 2013 Gezi Park protests, a small number of demonstrations in Istanbul, Türkiye that later transformed into nationwide riots which left eight protesters and a police officer dead.

He was acquitted of all charges in February 2020, but an appeals court overturned this verdict in January.

Kavala was also accused of involvement in the 2016 defeated coup orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Türkiye.