Top Turkish court rules Kavala jailing was lawful

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s top court on Tuesday, December 29 ruled that high-profile philanthropist Osman Kavala’s detention had not violated his right to liberty and security, state media said, after he spent more than three years in jail without a conviction, Reuters reports.

Kavala, 63, has been jailed since late 2017 and was remanded earlier this month at a hearing that Human Rights Watch called a “show trial” that silences dissent. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called for his release.

Immediately after he was acquitted in February of charges related to nationwide protests in 2013, Kavala was arrested again on charges related to a failed coup in 2016.

Kavala had applied to the Constitutional Court earlier this year claiming his detention was unlawful and therefore violated his right to liberty and security.

But the General Assembly of the Constitutional Court ruled it did not amount to a violation, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

Kavala has rejected all charges. Critics say his detention points to political pressure on Turkey’s judiciary, which they say has been bent to punish thousands of the government’s perceived opponents since 2016. The government says courts are independent and it has acted in the face of threats to the country.