On Friday 3 November, the European External Action Service (EEAS) spokesperson Maja Kocijancic criticised the detention of Osman Kavala, the chairman of Anadolu Kültür (Anatolian culture) (see EUROPE 11892, 11893).
Kavala is charged with seeking to change the constitutional order of Turkey and trying to overturn the Turkish government.
"The public rhetoric and accusations used against Mr Kavala after his detention (on 18 October) and prior to his arrest (on 1 November) cast serious doubt on the respect of due process and the presumption of innocence", the EEAS spokesperson said in a statement sent to the press.
Kocijancic said that Kavala's case "adds to the long list of detentions and arrests of civil society representatives, journalists, academics and others over the past weeks and months further eroding fundamental rights and freedoms, and leading to a shrinking space for civil society". "Long detention and pre-trial periods have become the norm rather than the exception", she added.
She also said that the EU expects the Turkish authorities to respect the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, "including the independence of the judiciary, pre-trial detention as well as the principle of presumption of innocence". (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)