George Clooney

The well-known lawyer and human rights defender, Amal Alamuddin – Clooneyand the actor and her husband, George Clooneydecided to bring his case back to international news Osman Kavalawho has remained imprisoned in Turkey since 2021 despite the acquittal decision of a Turkish court and the request of the European Court of Human Rights for his release.

Recall that the Turkish businessman, activist and philanthropist was sentenced by a Turkish court, on April 25, 2022, to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the government” due to his participation in the anti-government demonstrations in Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013 and, according to the government Erdogan, in the coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

While his case is considered a “lost case” by Turkey’s political and legal establishment, mainly due to the Turkish president’s intransigence – he has reduced the case to a personal vendetta with Kavala – and the control that Erdogan exercises judicial power, the unexpected involvement of the Clooney couple, through the Clooney Foundation, with the aim of vindicating and releasing the businessman, “turns the issue into a global issue”, the Turkish analyst points out to Vima, Dora Megouts.

The famous couple, who shone a few days ago at the Venice Film Festival, worked to get the case on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which is expected to examine the file and make a new decision. At the same time, the Clooneys are participating in Kavala’s second appeal (submitted on January 18 this year) to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), on the grounds that the final court decision against him violates several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The ECtHR has already condemned Turkey for the detention of the Turkish businessman, as it found that there was insufficient evidence to arrest and convict him.

Undaunted by the Turkish government so far, it is doubtful whether it will back down this time under the pressure of the huge publicity the case is expected to receive and the threat of Ankara’s possible expulsion from the Council of Europe.

“I believe that Kavala remains imprisoned because of the political situation in Turkey. And nothing will change in this, neither with loud foreign interventions, as in the case of the Clooney couple, nor with agitation of the issue in the international press. It will only change if there is a political change in Turkey”comments on Vima o Ali Tiralihead of the anti-government Turkish think tank Ideaolitik Institute.

The same opinion is held by the Turkish journalist Dora Meguts.

“Will moving the issue to the international platform, thanks to the Clooney Foundation, lead to the release of Kavala? There are people who naively ask the question. Undoubtedly, the international spotlight will fall on the case, it will gain visibility and popularity.

However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the possibility of Kavala being vindicated due to the intervention of the Clooneys is almost nil with the Erdogan government in Turkey, which does not recognize the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.”

Civil society and human rights activist Osman Kavala points out Megutz, “he has been in prison for 2,514 days. He was initially charged with espionage, acquitted of that charge, but later convicted in a separate case on similar charges, confirming executive branch interference in judicial decisions. This situation has also brought absurd and legally untenable concepts that deviate from universal legal norms”.

The case of opposition figures, such as the lawyer and activist Jan Atalaiwho remains imprisoned for his participation in the Gezi Park protests despite his election as a member of the Turkish Parliament, further highlights, according to our Turkish interlocutor, “the illegality and rights violations in Turkey’s judicial system.” Those expelled for the Gezi Park protests are being held solely because of their opposition to the government. Kavala has emerged as a symbolic figure representing all these political prisoners.

“Under normal circumstances, Turkey’s Criminal Procedure Code mandates a retrial based on ECtHR decisions. The continued imprisonment of Kavala and the others epitomizes the crisis in Turkey’s judicial system.”adds the Turkish journalist.