ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States on Monday slammed Turkey’s conviction of a leading Turkish activist, calling his life sentence on controversial charges “unjust” and “inconsistent” with respect for human rights.
Rights defender Osman Kavala, was arrested in November 2017 on charges of overthrowing the constitutional order of Turkey and espionage. He was accused of financing a 2013 protest in Istanbul and was acquitted, but was re-arrested and charged with taking part in the 2016 attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He had been locked up without a conviction for more than four years.
Kavala was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday.
“The United States is deeply troubled and disappointed by the court’s decision to convict Osman Kavala,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. “His unjust conviction is inconsistent with respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.”
Price called for the release of Kavala and “all others arbitrarily incarcerated” while remaining “gravely concerned by the continued judicial harassment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey.”
The panel also sentenced seven other defendants to 18 years in prison for “aiding” Kavala’s “attempt” to overthrow Erdogan’s government.
The ruling drew boos from an audience including Western diplomats attempting to stress the importance of rights issues and judicial independence in the other high-profile political case of the day, according to AFP.
Amnesty International described Kavala’s conviction to life imprisonment “a devastating blow to human rights,” while renewing its call for his release.
“This decision is a devastating blow not only to Osman Kavala, the other people on trial in the same case and their families but also to anyone who believes injustice and human rights activism in Turkey and around the world,” Nils Muiznieks, director of Amnesty’s regional office for Europe stated.
Human Rights Watch said Kavala's conviction "is a shocking miscarriage of justice."
Kavala’s plight led to soaring tensions between Turkey and the west.
Monday's hearing was held in Istanbul at the same time as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Erdogan in Ankara before travelling to Moscow and Kyiv later in the week, AFP reported. Rudaw English reached out to the spokesperson of the Secretary General, inquiring whether Guterres and Erdogan discussed Kavala’s sentencing, but they were not immediately available.
Human Rights Watch highlighted Kavala’s case in its annual 2021 rights report released earlier in the year, saying “authorities continue to use terrorism and defamation charges to harass rights defenders, and to violate their right to assembly.”
In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to release Kavala, with the Council of Europe warning Ankara to comply with the ruling or it would launch disciplinary proceedings.
