ECtHR deals fresh blow to Turkey: Release Osman Kavala immediately
25.08.2026
Source: https://www.bgnes.com/politics/ecthr-
The judgment was delivered at a public hearing in the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg.
The European Court of Human Rights today ordered Turkey to immediately release Osman Kavala and remedy the consequences of his conviction. The Court held that his conviction should be regarded as null and void under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The judgment was delivered at a public hearing in the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg. The case was brought following an application by Kavala concerning his continued detention after the ECtHR’s first judgment in 2019, as well as the subsequent criminal proceedings that resulted in his aggravated life sentence.
In its judgment, the ECtHR’s Grand Chamber found several violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and stressed that Turkey must ensure Kavala’s release as soon as possible. The Court also stated that the country must eliminate the consequences of the measures taken against him and that his criminal conviction should be regarded as null and void under the Convention.
The judgment carries particular significance in light of Strasbourg’s previous rulings. In December 2019, the ECtHR found violations of the right to liberty and security and the requirement for a speedy judicial review of the lawfulness of detention.
The Court also found a violation of Article 18 of the Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 5 § 1. It concluded that Kavala’s detention had pursued a purpose other than those permitted under the Convention, namely to silence him as a human rights defender. The ECtHR ruled at the time that Turkey must end his detention and secure his immediate release.
The Turkish authorities, however, did not release Kavala. Because of Turkey’s failure to implement the judgment, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers launched the extraordinary procedure under Article 46 § 4 of the Convention in 2022. On 11 July of that year, the Grand Chamber ruled that Turkey had failed to fulfil its obligation under Article 46 § 1 to comply with the ECtHR’s 2019 judgment.
The new case concerns the period following the 2019 judgment and the subsequent actions of the Turkish authorities, including Kavala’s continued detention, criminal prosecution and conviction.
In his application, Kavala alleged violations of Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 18 of the Convention. These concern the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to liberty and security, the right to a fair trial, the principle that there can be no punishment without law, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the prohibition on restricting rights for purposes not prescribed by the Convention.
Who is Osman Kavala?
Mehmet Osman Kavala was born in Paris on 2 October 1957. He graduated from Robert College in Istanbul and earned a degree in economics from the University of Manchester. Following his father’s death in 1982, he took over the family business but gradually turned his attention to civil society, culture and the protection of cultural heritage.
In 1983, Kavala became one of the founders of İletişim Publishing, which later developed into one of Turkey’s leading publishing houses. In 2002, he founded Anadolu Kültür, an organisation dedicated to cultural exchange, intercultural dialogue, support for the arts, social cohesion and cultural diversity.
Kavala has also been involved in numerous civil society organisations working in the fields of human rights, culture, historical reconciliation and the preservation of cultural heritage.
He was arrested in Istanbul on 18 October 2017 and has remained in prison ever since. He was initially charged in connection with the 2013 Gezi Park protests and the attempted coup in 2016.
In April 2022, Kavala was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in the Gezi trial for attempting to overthrow the government. Turkey’s Court of Cassation upheld the sentence in 2023.
The Kavala case has become one of the most significant tests of compliance with European Court of Human Rights judgments and of relations between Turkey and the Council of Europe.
As early as 2019, the Strasbourg court found that his detention was linked to the exercise of rights protected under the Convention and was intended to silence him as a human rights defender. In 2022, the Court ruled for a second time, addressing Turkey’s failure to comply with its first judgment.
With today’s judgment, the Grand Chamber has renewed its emphasis on Turkey’s obligation to restore Kavala to the position he would have been in had the Convention violations not occurred.
According to the ECtHR’s official statement, this requires his release at the earliest possible date and the elimination of the consequences of his conviction. | BGNES