The Constitutional Court of Turkey (AYM) issued its decision on the individual application of Osman Kavala, who is still held hostage for "espionage" accusation, despite his acquittal and release from the Gezi Park Case.

The AYM General Assembly decided that the right to freedom and the security of the person guaranteed in Article 19 of the Constitution was not violated in the case of Kavala.

The decision was taken with the majority of 8 members against 7 members.

Kavala had applied to the Constitutional Court with the claim that "the right to liberty and security of the person was violated because the detention was not legal".

The First Section of the Constitutional Court had decided on December 15 to submit the application to its General Assembly.

On December 18, Kavala who is accused of "espionage" appeared before the judge and his detention was prolonged.

Background

Kavala was arrested in Istanbul on 18 October 2017 on suspicion of attempting to overthrow the Government and the constitutional order in Turkey through force and violence. In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that his detention took place in the absence of sufficient evidence that he had committed an offence, in violation of his right to liberty and security under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The ECHR also found that Kavala’s arrest and pre-trial detention pursued an ulterior purpose, namely to silence him and dissuade other human rights defenders. In addition, the length of time taken by Turkey’s Constitutional Court to review Kavala’s complaint was insufficiently “speedy”. The European court concluded that the government was to take every measure to put an end to the applicant’s detention and to secure his immediate release.

On 18 February 2020, the Istanbul 30th Assize Court acquitted Kavala and ordered his release. On the same day he was taken into custody on the basis of separate charges, concerning which the domestic court ordered his release on 20 March. Kavala was placed in pre-trial detention on the basis of a third set of charges on 9 March.

The applicant lodged an application with Turkey’s Constitutional Court on 4 May 2020 complaining that there is insufficient evidence to justify his continuing detention and that the authorities have failed to implement the ECHR’s judgment of December 2019. The ECHR judgment became final on 11 May 2020 when the European court rejected a request from the Turkish authorities for the case to be referred to its Grand Chamber.

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