Turkish Constitutional Court to review Osman Kavala’s detention

Turkey’s Constitutional Court will review the ongoing detention of Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala on 29 December, according to the schedule of the court’s general assembly.

Constitutional Court’s General Assembly will review imprisoned businessman Osman Kavala’s application against his ongoing detention on 29 December.

Court’s first chamber was set to review the application on 15 December but it sent it to General Assembly without discussing it. pic.twitter.com/W99SNENAef

— Expression Interrupted (@ExInt24) December 23, 2020

The European Union and Council of Europe have been advocating for Kavala’s release, with EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Nabila Massralı saying recently:

"The decision last Friday of a Court in Istanbul to maintain in prison Osman Kavala, despite the unequivocal final ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, runs against Turkey's stated commitment to the rule of law and the respect of fundamental rights, including the presumption of innocence.”

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the ongoing detention of Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş, the former leader of the pro-Kurdish left-wing opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), should end.

The Istanbul court handling Kavala’s trial postponed the case until Feb. 5 in the most recent hearing on Dec. 18. The courtroom “was crowded with observers including foreign diplomats and opposition politicians” according to Reuters. It now appears that the Turkish Constitutional Court will review Kavala’s detention before his next hearing.