New joint Rule 9.2 submission to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights judgments in the case of Kavala v. Turkey

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Council of Europe Ministers should take further steps at their 1443rd 20-22 September 2022 meeting to ensure that the serious threat to the Convention system by Türkiye is treated seriously and brought to an end.

Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists presented on 1 September 2022 a joint Rule 9.2 to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights judgments in the case of Kavala v. Turkey (Application no. 28749/18) and the Proceedings under Article 46 (4) in the case of Kavala v. Türkiye [GC] (Application no. 28749/18).

On 11 July 2022, the Grand Chamber of the the European Court of Human Rights issued a historic judgment in the infringement proceedings against Türkiye under Article 46(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights for the state’s failure to implement the Court’s Kavala v. Turkey 2019 judgment. The Court condemned Türkiye’s failure to fulfil its obligation to abide by its ruling in the case, in particular by refusing to release Osman Kavala. Despite this significant finding, in its submission to the Committee of Ministers dated 19 July 2022, the Turkish government continues to defy the Court’s order to release Mr Kavala and purports to justify his continued detention, this time on the basis of his latest conviction by the Istanbul 13th Assize Court. In a widely criticised judgment delivered on 25 April 2022, the Turkish court sentenced Mr Kavala to aggravated life imprisonment on charges of attempting to overthrow the government (under Article 312 of the Criminal Code) for his alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests.

In the submission presented to the Committee ahead of its 1443rd Human Rights meetings between 20 and 22 September 2022, the NGOs underscore the key role that the Committee’s supervision will play in ensuring Türkiye’s compliance with the judgment, and international oversight. The NGOs provide views on four central issues relevant to the current state of proceedings:

- The government’s claim that the ongoing detention of Mr Kavala does not fall within the scope of the 10 December 2019 and 11 July 2022 judgments of the ECtHR, which is profoundly misleading and in direct defiance of the Court’s rulings.

- The government’s false argument that the Grand Chamber did not address the April 2022 conviction of the applicant in its July 2022 judgment.

- The imperative that Mr. Kavala be released immediately as part of the appropriate and urgent response to the Grand Chamber judgment.

- The necessity of the Committee increasing its efforts to secure the release of Mr Kavala by effectively using all designated legal, political, diplomatic, and financial tools in hand while continuing to firmly condemn Türkiye’s refusal to implement the judgment.

The NGOs urge the Committee to:

  1. Continue disregarding the false and misleading arguments made by the Turkish government, including those addressed in the submission, and condemn firmly Türkiye’s ongoing attempts to avoid executing the judgments.

  2. Use all legal, political, diplomatic, and financial tools designated in the Convention system to increase the pressure on Türkiye to secure the immediate release of Mr Kavala. This includes efforts to ensure the direct and continuing engagement, through all available channels, by member states, the Secretary General, the PACE, and all other Council of Europe institutions.

  3. Keep this case high on the agenda of the Council of Europe institutions and member states in any relations and talks with Türkiye and identify it as one of the main conditions for maintaining constructive co-operation with the country.

The submission can be accessed here.