The Council of Europe’s Turkey rapporteur has called for the freeing of Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala, two of Turkey’s highest profile opposition figures whose release had already been demanded by a 2019 European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling.
As part of a three-day visit to Turkey, Council of Europe’s Turkey rapporteur Stefan Schennach has reiterated the call for the release of both prisoners in accordance with the ECHR’s 2019 ruling.
Former People’s Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş has been imprisoned since 2016 for his alleged role in the 2014 Kobani protests. Businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala has been behind bars since 2017 due to his alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
Despite the ECHR ruling and numerous calls from the CoE, both men remain behind bars.
Schennach’s Turkey visit included stops in both Istanbul and Ankara between June 11-14. The CoE’s Turkey rapporteur met with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, and the Constitutional Court.
In a statement calling for Demirtaş and Kavala’s release, Schennach said: “I have appealed to authorities to secure the release of Mr Kavala and Mr Demirtaş without any further delay.”
Tumultuous relationship with the CoE
Turkey’s refusal to abide by ECHR rulings on the Demirtaş and Kavala cases has been a point of tension between Ankara and the CoE for years.
Following the refusal to release Demirtaş and Kavala in line with the 2019 ECHR ruling, the CoE started infringement proceedings against Turkey in late 2021. Despite these proceedings, Turkey has yet to face any sanctions more than two years later.
In 2021, Medyascope’s Murat Türsan interviewed Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher Emma Sinclair-Webb regarding the CoE’s infringement proceedings against Turkey.
Medyascope'un günlük e-bülteni
Andaç'a abone olun
Editörlerimizin derlediği öngörüler, analizler, Türkiye’yi ve dünyayı şekillendiren haberler, Medyascope’un e-bülteni Andaç‘la her gün mail kutunuzda.
In late 2023, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor visited Osman Kavala in Istanbul’s Silivri prison. The visit followed a harsh rebuke from Amor in which the rapporteur criticized Turkey’s alleged diplomatic isolation amidst stalled EU accession talks.
Turkey has argued that the ECHR’s 2019 call for Kavala’s release is non-binding.
Kavala and Demirtaş’ imprisonment
Osman Kavala was arrested in 2017 for his alleged role in 2013’s Gezi Park Protests which saw major demonstrations centered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square against then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rule.
Kavala was held in pre-trial detention for nearly five years before being sentenced to life in prison in 2022.
Kavala has been accused of high treason and of attempting to overthrow the Turkish government during the 2013 demonstrations.
Selahattin Demirtaş, Turkey’s most prominent Kurdish opposition leader, was the co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish HDP before his 2016 arrest. Despite his imprisonment, Demirtaş ran as the HDP’s 2018 presidential candidate and remained an influential voice in the Turkish political sphere until 2023, when he announced he was stepping back from politics.
Demirtaş has been accused of orchestrating the 2014 Kobani protests, which saw major demonstrations in Turkey’s heavily-Kurdish southeast over the government’s refusal to intervene in the Islamic State’s attack on Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria that borders Turkey.
In 2018, the ECHR issued a call for Demirtaş’ release, which was repeated in 2020. In May 2024, Demirtaş was sentenced to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in the Kobani protests.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
