Overview
- The European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday that Osman Kavala’s 2022 life sentence should be regarded as null and void and repeated its demand that Turkey free him immediately.
- The court found the case revealed a systemic problem in Turkey’s judiciary, citing structural shortcomings that undermined judicial independence and enabled the detention and prosecution of political opponents, human-rights defenders and journalists.
- Turkey has rejected the ruling and says its courts are independent, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously refusing to accept ECHR decisions and provoking a diplomatic row in 2021 over foreign calls for Kavala’s release.
- The Council of Europe opened rare infringement proceedings against Turkey in 2022 after Ankara failed to implement earlier ECHR orders, and the court’s new ruling increases the likelihood of formal penalties such as suspension of rights or other enforcement measures.
- Kavala has been detained since 2017 and his prolonged imprisonment has made him a symbol of a wider crackdown on civil society in Turkey; the case now puts fresh pressure on Ankara and could influence Turkey’s relations with Europe and its political landscape ahead of upcoming elections.