France opposes life sentence of Kavala in Turkey

France criticized a Turkish court’s life sentence for leading civil society leader Osman Kavala on Tuesday, saying his incarceration breached Turkey’s international commitments.

“France firmly opposes the life sentence,” said the foreign ministry of France, urging Kavala’s “immediate release” and the dismissal of all allegations against him.

He had been jailed for almost four and a half years “in breach of Turkey’s international responsibilities,” according to the French ministry.

France’s statement reflects similar sentiments made by Germany and the United States, both of which expressed disappointment with the judgment given by the Istanbul court on Monday.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Turkey to release Kavala in December 2019, yet he has remained imprisoned ever since.

For the second time in its history, the Council of Europe’s (COE) committee of ministers, of which the ECHR is a member, initiated infringement proceedings against Turkey in February.

The matter has now been referred back to the ECHR in a first step of the process to determine if Turkey has failed to fulfill its duties under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The proceedings could result in Turkey being suspended or, in the most serious case, ejected from the Council of Europe. The decisions of the ECHR are binding on all COE member states.

The Istanbul court condemned Kavala to life in jail on grounds of attempting to destabilize the government, which his supporters dismissed. It also sentenced seven other defendants to 18 years in prison.

Tiny Kox, head of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, expressed “great disappointment” with the Turkish court’s decision.

“The fact that he spent almost five years in pre-trial detention and has now been sentenced to life in prison as a result of legal proceedings that were found to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, is shocking,” he said.

“Mr. Kavala should be released without any further delay,” Kox said.

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