Turkey has until Wednesday – following a previous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights – to release businessman and philanthropist Osman Kawala. Turkey misses European Council deadline According to the Council of Europe, sanctions may continue.
Osman Kawala, a 64-year-old businessman and philanthropist, is known as a critic of President Erdogan. Western nations and human rights groups say he is in prison for political reasons. Having been in custody for more than four years without evidence shows that this is a sham investigation, according to human rights organizations. According to Turkey, he is suspected of sponsoring the Gezi uprising in 2013 and plotting to overthrow the coup in 2016. He was acquitted of the first charge in 2020, but was re-arrested on suspicion of espionage and portrayed as a conspirator by Erdogan. “Financial Terrorists.”
In 2019, the European Council called for the release of Kavala. This must be done by January 19th. But now that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has allowed that deadline, sanctions may continue. Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe, a 47 – nation human rights body, and is expected to comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling.
The next meeting of the Council of Europe is scheduled for February 2. The council has a good chance of imposing sanctions on Turkey.
In early October, ambassadors from Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States called for a “fair and speedy resolution of the case.” Erdogan then threatened to expel them from the country. In the end it didn’t come.
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