Email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser
[link removed]
.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Turkey: Free Osman Kavala
[link removed]
Washington - May 12, 2020 — In response to the ruling of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of political prisoner Osman Kavala, Freedom House issued the following statement:
“With the court’s decision to reject the Turkish government’s request for referral of Kavala’s case, the European Court’s ruling from last December establishing Kavala’s imprisonment as politically motivated is now final,” said Marc Behrendt, director of Freedom House’s Europe and Eurasia programs. “Osman Kavala has spent more than 900 days in jail, despite never being convicted of a crime. Turkey should uphold its human rights obligations and release him immediately.”
Background:
On May 12, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rejected the request by Turkey for a referral of its ruling on arrested philanthropist Osman Kavala to the Grand Chamber, effectively making an earlier ECtHR conclusion that Kavala had been arrested for politically motivated reasons final.
Kavala was arrested November 1, 2017, on charges of attempting to overthrow the government through his alleged participation in the 2013 nationwide Gezi Park protests. On December 10, 2019, the ECtHR ruled that Kavala was arrested without any reasonable suspicion and the Constitutional Court did not examine his application within a reasonable period, and stated that he should be released from prison immediately. On February 18, 2020, a Turkish court acquitted nine defendants including Kavala of charges related to the Gezi Park protests. However, Kavala was rearrested later that day on separate charges of espionage related to the 2016 coup, effectively circumventing the ECtHR’s ruling to release Kavala immediately. He remains behind bars to this day.
Turkey is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2020
[link removed]
, and Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2019
[link removed]
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
Stay up to date with Freedom House’s latest news
[link removed]
and events
[link removed]
by signing up for our newsletter
[link removed]
.
Follow on Twitter
[link removed]
Friend on Facebook
[link removed]
Forward to Friend
[link removed]
Copyright © 2020, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Freedom House
1850 M Street NW
11th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
unsubscribe from all emails
[link removed]
update subscription preferences
[link removed]
