The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Committee of Ministers has no plans to impose sanctions on Turkey for failing to comply with European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings calling for the release of businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, according to Daniel Höltgen, the council’s director of communications and spokesperson of the CoE secretary general, the T24 news website reported.
Kavala, 66, faces charges that have ranged from espionage and financing anti-government protests in 2013 to taking part in a failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016.
He was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for allegedly trying to topple Erdoğan’s government by organizing the Gezi Park protests, which erupted in the summer of 2013 in opposition to government plans to destroy a park in central İstanbul.
The ECtHR judgment in Kavala’s case in December 2019 found his detention to be arbitrary, politically motivated and in pursuance of an “ulterior motive,” that of silencing him as a human rights defender.
The non-implementation of the 2019 ruling prompted the CoE Committee of Ministers to launch an infringement procedure against Turkey in February 2022.
According to the T24 report, Höltgen met with a group of journalists for a press briefing at CoE headquarters on the occasion of its 75th anniversary in Strasbourg.
Despite repeated requests from the ECtHR and the initiation of infringement proceedings against Turkey, Höltgen said there is “no willingness on the part of member states to impose sanctions.”
He emphasized that the diplomatic language against Ankara had become “increasingly harsh,” but the possibility of sanctions or the discussion of expelling Turkey from the Council had not materialized.
According to Höltgen, the infringement procedure was initiated as a signal to Turkey and not as a prelude to expulsion.
“No member state official called for the termination of Turkey’s membership even when the procedure was initiated,” Höltgen told reporters, pointing out that the subsequent war in Europe and the numerous crises facing member states required maintaining solidarity rather than diverting attention.
In March the Committee of Ministers declared Turkey in “serious breach” of the European Convention on Human Rights and rule of law principles due to Kavala’s continued detention. The committee reiterated its deep concern and the need for Turkey to take all necessary steps to ensure the immediate release of Kavala and others detained under similar circumstances.
The committee plans to further examine these cases in their meetings in June and September 2024, continuing to push for judicial independence and respect for parliamentary immunity in Turkey.