Tanrıkulu's reaction to the Osman Kavala decision: 'ECHR decisions must be fulfilled'

NEW Party Diyarbakır Deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu made a statement regarding the rejection of Osman Kavala's lawyers' request for retrial and release by the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, following the ECHR decision.

Tanrıkulu said:

"Osman Kavala was detained on October 18, 2017, and arrested on November 1, 2017. He has been deprived of his freedom for approximately nine years since that day. He was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment on the charge of attempting to overthrow the government due to the Gezi Resistance, and this sentence was approved by the Supreme Court. However, Osman Kavala appealed to the European Court of Human Rights while his trial was ongoing. The ECHR and its Grand Chamber convicted Turkey in the first Osman Kavala decision. The court ruled that Kavala's right to personal liberty and security was violated and that his detention constituted an unintended use of the restrictions imposed on rights within the scope of Article 18 of the Convention.

Despite this, the decision of the ECHR Grand Chamber was not implemented. Osman Kavala was not released, his requests for retrial were rejected. During this process, his conviction was finalized by the Supreme Court. Osman Kavala applied to both the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights during the trial process. The ECHR held a hearing in Strasbourg on March 25. I also attended this hearing. The court announced its decision on 25 August and convicted Turkey once again for violations within the scope of Article 6 of the Convention. This decision made by the Grand Chamber is final. Osman Kavala's lawyers appealed to the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which handed down the verdict recently, and requested a retrial and release. The court rejected these requests today. This decision is against the law, the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Why?

"DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS SITUATION, WHICH IS CONTRARY TO THE LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION"

The court argues that Osman Kavala did not exhaust domestic legal remedies. He also argues that the ECHR cannot evaluate the evidence by replacing the local courts. However, the Constitution is clear. Turkey's obligations towards the international agreements to which it is a party and the ECHR decisions are clear. The matter before the court is to fulfill the requirements of the ECHR decision and evaluate the request for retrial within this framework. In the case of Osman Kavala's application, the ECHR concluded that the individual application to the Constitutional Court was not an effective domestic remedy and provided detailed reasons that Kavala did not have to wait for this process to be concluded. The court also referred to the applications of Can Atalay and Tayfun Karaman in its decision.

Therefore, it is unacceptable for the 13th High Criminal Court to reject the request for retrial by ignoring these justifications set out in the ECHR decision. This approach is incompatible with the obligation to comply with the final ECHR decisions guaranteed by Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Constitution. We are going through a period in which Turkey's rule of law has been severely damaged and trust in the judiciary has fallen to its lowest levels. This resistance of the judiciary against the Constitution and the law continues with the latest decision. I call on the Justice and Development Party officials to take action. The duty and responsibility in this regard belongs to you. Following the ECHR decision, Osman Kavala's situation can no longer be considered only as a matter of detention. We have a citizen who continues to be deprived of his freedom despite final international court decisions. Do not be a party to this situation that is against the law and the Constitution. Fulfill your responsibility to remove the obstacles to Osman Kavala's freedom and to fulfill the requirements of the ECHR decisions."