The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey must immediately release Osman Kavala, a businessman and civil society figure who has spent nearly a decade in detention. The court found his continued imprisonment unlawful, ruled that his rights to a fair trial, freedom of expression and association had been breached, and said his aggravated life sentence amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. The judgment matters because it directly challenges President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, which campaigners say has used the courts to suppress political opponents, and it marks the ECHR's third binding ruling in a case Turkey has so far ignored twice.

Kavala, 68, was arrested in 2017 over the 2013 Gezi Park protests and later also charged in connection with the 2016 coup attempt, receiving a life sentence in 2022 that the ECHR has now declared "null and void". The court said his case reflected a "systemic problem" of Turkey detaining political opponents, human rights defenders and journalists, pointing to "structural shortcomings" in judicial independence, while Ankara maintains its courts are independent. Amnesty International has demanded his immediate release, and the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, which can sanction member states over rule-of-law breaches, is due to discuss the case in mid-September, though it remains unclear whether Turkey will comply.