the European Court of Human Rights
ON THE RECORD · 4 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“detention and prosecution of political opponents, human rights defenders and journalists”
the European Court of Human Rights · said 2026-08-25 · reported 2026-08-25
The court said Kavala's case had exposed a systemic problem in Turkey of detaining and prosecuting political opponents, human rights defenders and journalists.
“structural shortcomings which affected the guarantees of independence and impartiality of the judiciary”
the European Court of Human Rights · said 2026-08-25 · reported 2026-08-25
The court identified structural shortcomings affecting the independence and impartiality of Turkey's judiciary.
“inhuman and degrading treatment”
the European Court of Human Rights · said 2026-08-25 · reported 2026-08-25
The court found that Kavala's aggravated life sentence amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment.
“The measures taken against the applicant... had been predominantly motivated by an ulterior purpose, namely, to punish him for his role in the Gezi Park demonstrations and for expressing his opinions as a human rights defender, and to silence him,”
the European Court of Human Rights · said 2026-08-25 · reported 2026-08-25
The ECHR ruled that Kavala's continued detention was unlawful and violated his rights to a fair trial, freedom of expression and association.