European disciplinary action against Turkey for the incarceration of Kavala

The Council of Europe announced on Friday the initiation of a disciplinary measure against Turkey, against the backdrop of His refusal to release leading opposition figure Osman Kavala, in a move that has only been used once in the organization’s history.

The Committee of Human Rights Ministers of the European Organization has approved the next phase Turkey has repeatedly refused to comply with a 2019 European Court ruling The Human Rights Council is calling for Kavala’s release, according to a statement from the council.

This is done in light of the growing concern about human rights violations in Turkey, especially after the failed 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who repeatedly targeted Kavala personally in his speeches.

The Council of Europe stated: “The Committee considers that Turkey refuses to abide by the final judgment of the court to ensure the immediate release of the applicant”.

On Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry urged the Council of Europe not to initiate the procedure “out of respect for the judicial process in course “, warning that the move would constitute” interference “in its internal affairs.

This is the second time that the Council of Europe has used these measures against one of its 47 member states. The first time was in 2017, when a similar measure was launched against Azerbaijan for its refusal to release a dissident.

The procedure was established in 2010 to ensure full compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which are legally binding on the Member States.

The Ministerial Committee oversees the implementation of judicial decisions.

The ministerial committee’s decision, which requires approval by a two-thirds majority, now places Turkey under an official note that the European Court of Human Rights will consider its failure to release Kavala.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council d
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe “archive”

The court will then decide whether Turkey’s failure to implement its decision constitutes a further violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Turkey has a deadline of January 19th to respond. The commission will then report the case to the European Court of Human Rights at its next meeting on 2 February. The next hearing in the Kavala case is scheduled for January 17 in Istanbul.

The Statute of the Council of Europe provides for the suspension of a member state’s right to vote in a ministerial committee or even his expulsion as a last punitive measure. However, this problem is still far from reaching this stage, knowing that there is a mechanism for resolving such disputes.

About a week ago, the Turkish judiciary made a decision Keep the Turkish businessman and activist Osman KavalaHe was jailed for 4 years without trial, in prison until the next session, set for January 17 in front of a court in Istanbul.

The hearing, part of a long series of judicial decisions that have held him in prison, came on the eve of a deadline for the Council of Europe, which threatened Turkey to suspend its membership in a rare procedure if the 64-year-old activist had not been released.

While the session saw attendance in courtroom of a large crowd of members of the opposition in Parliament, European diplomats and relatives of the accused, including his wife.

His lawyer, Tolga Aitur, said at the start of the hearing that Kavala, a leading figure in civil society, could be sentenced to life in prison but does not intend to appear. in court.

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