European court rejects Turkish appeal of Osman Kavala ruling
The European Court of Human Rights rejected an appeal by Turkish officials Tuesday, upholding a December ruling calling for the release of jailed Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala.
ISTANBUL — Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala has been jailed without conviction for 925 days and a recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has increased pressure on the Turkish justice system to release the prominent civil society figure.
On Tuesday, the ECHR rejected a Turkish appeal of a Dec. 10 ruling that found Kavala’s imprisonment to be politically motivated and called for his immediate release. Kavala has since remained behind bars as Turkish officials sought a referral to the court’s Grand Chamber on March 9, the last possible date to do so.
With the appeal now rejected, the ECHR upheld its December ruling and human rights advocates are calling on Turkish justice officials to abide by the decision and release Kavala without further delay.
“Turkey should immediately release Osman Kavala … and drop all the charges against him,” Milena Buyum, Turkey campaigner for Amnesty International, told Al-Monitor. “There is no evidence of wrongdoing, which has been the case for two and a half years now and continues to be the case.”
