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Interventions by Mr. George Loukaidis and the deputy Ms. Christiana Erotokritou at the Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the release of Osman Kavala
In the context of the work of the Fourth Part of the 2023 Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the members of the Cypriot delegation, Mr. George Loucaides and Mrs. Christiana Erotokritou participated yesterday in a debate at the Plenary Session of the Assembly on the topic "Appeal for the immediate release of Mr. Osman Kavala".
In his intervention, Mr. Loucaides said that the continued life imprisonment of the well-known human rights defender, Mr Osman Kavala, is a consequence of the serious violation of human rights and the repression of the opposition forces in Turkey. He deplored the systematic violations of freedom of speech, noting that these have led to widespread self-censorship of many dissidents, activists and journalists. The Cypriot MP stressed that Turkey's continued contempt for the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Kavala case, despite repeated appeals by the Council of Europe, cannot remain unanswered and without consequences. As he pointed out, Turkey's refusal to comply damages the authority and credibility of the Organization. He recommended that steps be taken to ensure the immediate release of Mr Kavala by the Turkish authorities, including the activation of the joint mechanism between the CSTO and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to address problems arising when a member state violates its treaty obligations. Finally, she expressed support for the difficult struggle of the defenders of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in the country.
Ms Erotokritou condemned the aggravated sentence imposed by the Turkish court on Mr Kavala which carries a life sentence of imprisonment. She said that the charges facing Mr Kavala were unsubstantiated and politically motivated. The whole judicial process, he noted, is rife with arbitrariness, irregularities and interference by the executive. He underlined that Turkey's non-compliance with the ECtHR ruling constitutes a violation of its treaty obligations while at the same time it runs counter to basic constitutional provisions and provisions of the Penal Code. The Cypriot counsel noted that the international community should exert all its influence to convince Turkey of the need for the immediate release of Mr Kavala. Otherwise, she warned, Turkey will have to face the consequences and challenge the credentials of its national delegation at the next CSTO session in January 2024.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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