Detention as a means of silencing human rights defenders: The case of Osman Kavala

Background

Osman Kavala is a Turkish philanthropist and human rights defender who has contributed to the establishment of numerous NGOs in Turkey since the 1990s. These organisations currently operate in human rights, cultural and social studies, historical reconciliation and environmental protection. 
Mr Kavala was arrested in October 2017 after charges were arbitrarily brought against him concerning the Gezi Park protests, a peaceful environmental sit-in organised in May 2013, and the attempted military coup of July 15, 2016. Interrogated by the police, Mr Kavala was ordered to be placed in pre-trial detention together with 15 other suspects, including NGO leaders, actors, and journalists, all accused of “attempting to abolish the government and overthrowing the constitutional order by force and violence”. He made objections to the order and applied for his provisional release, taking his case all the way to the Turkish Constitutional Court. However, all of these were rejected. Subsequently, Mr Kavala took his case to the European Court of Human Rights. 

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
In its much-awaited decision, the Strasbourg Court found that there had been no evidence reasonable enough to accuse Kavala of using force and violence, which had been the grounds used to justify his detention. Similarly, the allegations linked to his instigating role in the Gezi Park protests were found to be uncorroborated. Noting the time-period elapsing between Kavala’s application to the Turkish Constitutional Court and its final judgment — approximately 18 months - the Court held that the length of the proceedings to review the lawfulness of detention had been unreasonably long. 
A key finding of the judgment was that the pre-trial detention of Mr Kavala had an undeclared purpose: silencing him as an NGO activist and human rights defender. The Court found that charges brought against him had the ulterior aim of weakening civil society in Turkey and dissuading others from engaging in human rights-related activities. In concluding so, the Court highlighted that Mr Kavala’s interrogation had been framed around his legitimate activities as a civil society leader. Moreover, the launching of investigations had been rather untimely, given that he was arrested more than 4 years after the Gezi protests and over a year after the attempted coup. The Court also noted that the wording of accusations against Mr Kavala bore evident similarities with two speeches given by President Erdoğan, the Head of State. Likewise, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and intervening NGOs expressed their concerns about the government’s repressive measures against civil society and human rights activists. The Court concluded its judgment by ordering the Turkish authorities to immediately release Mr Kavala. 


Status of Implementation
The Strasbourg Court judgment was delivered on 10 December 2019. Mr  Kavala was acquitted and released at the 6th hearing of the Gezi park trials, held on 18 February. President Erdogan appeared in the ruling party’s televised meeting the very next day, criticising the court’s decision to release him. Shortly afterwards, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors granted permission for an investigation into 3 of the judges concerned, which was followed by smear campaigns about the head of the court through state-owned media channels. On 9 March 2020, Osman Kavala was detained again, this time charged with “obtaining state secrets for political or military espionage” as part of the coup-related investigation. As of 29 May 2020, he remains in prison. 
Detention on unjustified charges continues to be used widely as a tool of political repression in Turkey. For this very reason, a series of major NGOs - including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and the Turkey Litigation Support Project - are campaigning actively for the implementation of this judgment. In submissions to the Committee of Ministers made in May 2020, they outlined the key facts as to why Mr Kavala should be released immediately. They also provided information concerning on-going prolonged pre-trial detention practices threatening mainly political opponents, government critics and human rights defenders as well as those attending peaceful protests. The government’s tendency to deem such individuals as ‘terrorists’ and continuous attempts to paralyse civil society often manifest themselves as resorting to lengthy pre-trial detentions as a way of punishing them — often without assessing the requirements of the situation, the proportionality of detention, or non-custodial alternatives. The state of domestic law and judicial practice, deeply influenced by political figures, enables the abusive use of pre-trial detention.
In their submissions prior to the Committee of Ministers meeting in June 2020, NGOs asked the Committee to supervise the case under the enhanced procedure as a priority and leading case. 
At the time of writing (May 2020), Mr Kavala has been detained for over 900 days. 

EIN Activities
EIN is providing advice concerning the implementation process and the drafting of submissions to a number of NGOs working on Mr Kavala’s case. EIN  campaigns for the immediate release of Mr Kavala and the implementation of the judgment in all of its forms. 

Useful Links to Kavala v. Turkey (Application No 28749/18)

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

Case details on Hudoc-EXEC