Strasbourg Court Demands Turkey Release Jailed Philanthropist Osman Kavala After Nine Years

Turkey has been ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to free Osman Kavala at once, bringing one of Ankara's longest-running clashes with Strasbourg to a head. The businessman and civil society figure has spent close to ten years behind bars despite repeated interventions from the court.

Kavala, 68, received a life sentence in 2022 over accusations that he helped fund and direct the mass anti-government protests that swept Turkey in 2013, as well as alleged involvement in the 2016 attempted military coup. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, arguing since his October 2017 arrest that the prosecutions were designed to silence a prominent critic.

In its judgment issued on Tuesday, the court held that his ongoing imprisonment had no legal basis and that authorities had breached his entitlements to due process and to free expression and assembly. Judges concluded that the actions against him were driven chiefly by an improper motive — punishing his part in the Gezi Park demonstrations and his work as a human rights advocate — and that his aggravated life sentence itself constituted inhuman and degrading treatment.

Beyond the individual case, the judges warned that Kavala's ordeal reflected deeper structural flaws in Turkey, pointing to what they described as a pattern of prosecuting political rivals, activists and members of the press, alongside weaknesses undermining the impartiality of the country's courts. The Turkish government maintains that its judiciary operates independently.

The ruling marks the third time the Strasbourg court has ruled in Kavala's favor. In 2019 it called for his immediate release on grounds that his detention was arbitrary, a demand Ankara ignored. He was acquitted of Gezi-related charges in February 2020 only to be detained again hours later on separate coup conspiracy allegations; that acquittal was later quashed, clearing the way for the life sentence, which the court has now declared void.

Human rights organizations welcomed the decision. Amnesty International's Eve Geddie urged Turkish authorities, including prosecutors and judges, to secure his immediate and unconditional freedom, saying the prolonged obstruction of justice could no longer continue.

Kavala, who was born in Paris and studied in Britain before running a cultural foundation in Istanbul, has become emblematic of the pressure placed on Turkish civil society. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously alleged he acted on behalf of US-based financier George Soros — claims Kavala rejects.

It remains uncertain whether Ankara will honor the latest binding judgment. The Council of Europe, which monitors compliance among its 46 member states, holds the power to suspend Turkey's voting rights, though the country has so far retained its seat as a founding member despite earlier defiance. The Kavala file is expected to top the agenda when the body's ministers convene in mid-September.