European court urges release of prominent Turkish activist – TheNigerialawyer

The European Court of Human Rights has called for the immediate
release of Turkish businessman and activist Osman Kavala, saying
there was a lack of reasonable suspicion that he had committed an
offence.

Kavala has been in jail in Turkey for more than two years while
on trial on charges of attempting to overthrow the government,
based on accusations that he organised and funded nationwide
protests in 2013 against then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
who currently holds an empowered presidential seat.

The indictment cited tapped phone calls in which Kavala
discussed sending pastries, milk, juice and gas masks to protesters
as evidence that he financed the protests. Kavala, who faces life
in jail if convicted, has denied the allegations.

The court said on Tuesday that the authorities were unable to
demonstrate that the applicant’s pre-trial detention had been
justified by reasonable suspicions based on an objective assessment
of the acts attributed to him.

“In the absence of facts, information or evidence showing that
Mr. Kavala had been involved in criminal activity, he could not
reasonably be suspected of having attempted to overthrow the
Government by force or violence,” the court said, calling on
authorities to secure his release.

It also said in the ruling that it supported Kavala’s assertion
that his detention was aimed at silencing him, adding that it was
“likely to have a dissuasive effect on the work of human rights
defenders”.

ECHR rulings are legally binding, but Turkey has frequently not
implemented them. There was no comment from the Turkish government
on Tuesday’s ruling.

Kavala should ‘return to freedom’
Three of Kavala’s lawyers said the ECHR’s ruling was a “just but
delayed legal achievement.”

“We strongly emphasise the steps needed to be taken without
losing time to ensure that our client Osman Kavala returns to
freedom at once in line with this ruling,” they said in a
statement.

Lawyer Ilkan Koyuncu told the Reuters news agency that the
Turkish court can rule to release Kavala by itself after the ECHR
ruling but that the lawyers will also apply for his release.

Critics of Erdogan’s government have questioned the independence
of Turkish courts, especially since a crackdown following a failed
coup in 2016. Erdogan and his government say the judiciary makes
independent decisions.

The demonstrations in 2013 started as a protest against the
redevelopment of Gezi Park in Istanbul and quickly spread across
the country.

Kavala at the time sat on the board of the Turkish branch of
financier George Soros’s Open Society Foundation. He has said the
charity did not provide financial support to the protests.

The next hearing on his case is set for December 24 and 25.
Fifteen other defendants are on trial along with Kavala, who is
currently the only one in jail.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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