Solution to Kavala case lies in the hands of Turkey’s judges, say PACE monitors

Source:Council of Europe Date:23May2022

“As a result of our fruitful meetings in the last few days, we have heard the legal arguments on both sides. However, it seems clear to us that evidence deemed insufficient by the Strasbourg Court to justify even a pre-trial detention was nevertheless used as the basis for the harshest possible sentence at first instance level. This amounts to a clear disregard for the findings of the European Court of Human Rights. We believe that the Court’s judgment also applies to the subsequent indictment for which he was re-arrested,” they said.

The two rapporteurs said the conviction of seven co-defendants in the Gezi trial – including the Director of the Council of Europe School of Political Studies and prominent civil society activists – to severe prison sentences, and their immediate imprisonment, was also of great concern. “We regret that we were not able to visit Mr Kavala and his Gezi trial co-defendants in prison. We note, however, that there were no complaints about their prison conditions and that, until the judgment is final, these individuals remain detainees and are not finally convicted.”