The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Turkey in the case of the detention of philanthropist and rights activist Osman Kavala, thus giving the nod to the Council of  Europe (CoE) to continue with a rarely initiated disciplinary process against Ankara. 

The top European court said the philanthropist was held in pre-trial detention for more than four years despite three decisions ordering his release on bail and one acquittal judgment. 

Turkey did not act “in good faith” or in a manner compatible with the "conclusions and spirit" of the Kavala judgment of the Strasbourg-based court’s 2019 decision, the panel of judges concluded. Mere minutes after the ruling, CoE leaders said that the court had agreed that Turkey had failed to fulfill its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, an international convention to protect human rights in Europe that all members should abide by. “We welcome today’s judgment which provides a definitive answer on this point. We renew our call for the immediate release of Kavala,” the statement said. 

Kavala’s case — a cobweb of accusations, flimsy evidence and unrelated charges such as political espionage or the financing of different and often conflicting terrorist groups — has become a litmus test for Turkey’s human rights, the rule of law and independence of the judiciary. It also strained Ankara’s diplomatic ties, mainly when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on the verge of ousting 10 Western ambassadors for penning a letter calling for the release of Kavala, the founder of the award-winning cultural platform Anadolu Kultur.