European Court launches infringement proceedings against Turkey for failure to release philanthropist – JURIST – News

The Council of Europe on Friday warned Turkey that it would initiate “infringement proceedings” following the country’s failure to free a philanthropist imprisoned for two years.

The European Human Rights Watchdog referred to the 2019 decision. Previously, they had instigated Tuejry to release Osman Kavala from prison due to a lack of evidence of the offense committed and that imprisonment was a tactic of silence rather than justice. The decision to extend the four-year detention period without trial has also been flagged by the European Court as an offense by Turkey.

After Turkey’s inaction, the European Court of Human Rights accused them of ignoring the Strasbourg judgment on several occasions, and most recently in the Turkish court’s decision last week to keep Kavala in prison, which constituted a violation of Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The risk of keeping the philanthropist in detention was also noted, which could lead to the suspension of the body from the country’s capital, Ankara.

In response, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that the ECHR “interferes with the independent judiciary”. The ECHR said the possibility for Turkey to take “measures” to release Kavala was final in May 2020, when the Committee of Ministers had the power to intervene to follow up on the 2019 decision, subject to Article 46.6 of the European Convention. on human rights.