Dear Permanent Representative,
In recent years, Amnesty International has reported extensively on the arbitrary use of criminal law to silence human rights defenders and government critics in Turkey. The ongoing pre-trial detention of Osman Kavala and of Selahattin Demirtaş, despite the European Court of Human Rights’ binding judgments ruling for their immediate release, reveals a judicial system unwilling to safeguard the protection of human rights.
In the absence of any progress towards the release of Mr Kavala, as requested by the Court’s December 2019 judgment, and despite a strongly worded Interim Resolution and two decisions of the Committee of Ministers, Amnesty International is urging Council of Europe member states to support the initiation of infringement proceedings under article 46 § 4 in the case of Kavala v. Turkey.