The European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) Grand Chamber accepted Osman Kavala's application on July 2. The ruling will be announced on Aug. 25 during a public hearing in Strasbourg.
The European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) Grand Chamber will announce its ruling on Osman Kavala's application regarding his detention at 10 a.m. on Aug. 25 during a hearing at the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg. The Grand Chamber adopted the ruling on July 2. The text of the judgment will also be published on the court's website (www.echr.coe.int) on the day it is announced.
Kavala has been imprisoned since 2017 on accusations of attempting to overthrow the government by organizing the Gezi Park protests. In its first ruling in 2019, the ECHR found that Kavala's detention violated his right to liberty and security and his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association, and held that his arrest had been politically motivated.
After Turkey failed to implement the ruling, the case was referred to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It subsequently returned to the Grand Chamber under infringement proceedings. The Grand Chamber found that Turkey had failed to fulfill its obligation to comply with the ECHR's judgments. Despite that ruling, Kavala was not released, and in September 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld his sentence of aggravated life imprisonment.
After the conviction became final, Kavala filed a new application with the ECHR, arguing that his right to a fair trial and his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association had been violated. The court communicated the application to Turkey in 2024.
Background
The ECHR's seven-judge Second Section relinquished jurisdiction over the application and referred the case to the 17-judge Grand Chamber, finding that it raised a serious issue concerning the interpretation or application of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Legal experts say that if the Grand Chamber also finds a violation in this application, Turkey's argument that Kavala is now being held as a convicted prisoner and that the previous violation judgments have therefore been implemented would no longer be tenable.
