MEPs have denounced in the strongest terms the sentencing of Turkish human rights defender Osman Kavala to an aggravated life sentence.
In the joint resolution adopted by The Left, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and EPP groups by a show of hands, MEPs say that Mr Kavala was sentenced on the basis of “unjustified charges, for the ulterior purpose of silencing him as a human rights defender and deterring critical voices in Turkey”, calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
More broadly, the European Parliament expresses its deep concern about the continued deterioration of fundamental rights and freedoms and the rule of law in Turkey and calls on the authorities to put an end to the judicial harassment of human rights defenders, academics, journalists, religious leaders and lawyers.
Turkey, as a member of the Council of Europe, must fully implement all judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Parliament recalls. According to MEPs, “with the decision to openly defy the binding rulings of the ECtHR on the case of Osman Kavala and others, the current Turkish Government has deliberately destroyed any hopes of reopening its EU accession process”.
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/1ia (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)