The Turkish patron Osman Kavala, this enemy chosen by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared again on Monday February 21 before a court in Istanbul, a new episode of a soap opera which, for more than four years, has kept him in prison and made looming over Ankara with the threat of Council of Europe sanctions.
Read alsoOsman Kavala, the anti-Erdogan at the heart of a diplomatic imbroglio
A major figure in civil society, Osman Kavala, 64, faces life imprisonment, accused by the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of having sought to destabilize Turkey.
In addition to the wife of Osman Kavala, several European diplomats - French and German in particular - and American were present in court, as well as the rapporteur of the European Parliament for Turkey, Nando Sanchez Amor, noted AFP.
Ankara is under threat of Council of Europe sanctions for keeping this intellectual in detention without trial.
Since 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has been calling for his release and in early February, the Council of Europe seized this court again.
But Turkey denounces an “
attack on the independence of the judicial process
”.
“
It is difficult to understand why Turkey does not comply with the Court's injunctions when it is a party to this jurisdiction, because it will not escape the consequences
,” the rapporteur for the European Parliament told AFP.
“
Turkey is a founding member (of the Council of Europe), so it is not a question of foreign interference
” insisted Nando Sanchez Amor, considering that this attitude “
harms the image of the country.
Detained for 1,574 days in Silivri prison, near Istanbul, Osman Kavala is in the sights of power for having supported the 2013 anti-government demonstrations against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then Prime Minister.
