Bob Menendez, chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, criticised Secretary of State Antony Blinken for failing to condemn a Turkish court’s decision to jail philanthropist Osman Kavala for life.
Menendez said a statement by Blinken’s office on Monday fell short of what was required, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
“This is why authoritarian figures like (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan – get away with continuing to do what they’re doing,” Menendez said during a hearing on the State Department budget, Reuters said.
“We should have condemned the conviction,” the top Democratic senator said.
The conviction, which found Kavala guilty of seeking to overthrow the Turkish government by financing the Gezi Park protests in 2013, was inconsistent with respect to human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, U.S. States Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a written statement on Monday.
“The United States is deeply troubled and disappointed by the court’s decision to convict Osman Kavala,” Price said, reiterating Washington’s call for Turkey to release him “in keeping with European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings, as well as to free all others arbitrarily incarcerated.”
Convicting Kavala to life in prison without parole, the Istanbul court also sentenced seven other defendants to 18 years in prison each, for aiding an attempt to overthrow the government. The court however, found that there was not enough evidence to convict Kavala on a separate espionage charge.
The philanthropist and businessman had spent four and a half years behind bars without a conviction ahead of Monday’s hearing. In 2019, the ECHR ordered his immediate release citing lack of evidence and a breach to his rights to freedom.
In February, the Council of Europe (CoE) started infringement proceedings as part of a disciplinary procedure over the continued imprisonment of Kavala, meaning Turkey could be suspended from the organisation. In response, Erdoğan said Ankara will not respect the CoE decisions.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ condemned the United States, Germany and other foreign governments for “interfering in Turkey’s internal affairs” through their statements on Kavala’s conviction.
“Let them mind their own business,” Bozdağ told reporters, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.
Turkey is a sovereign and independent state, and no one has the right to interfere in its internal affairs, Bozdağ said. The Turkish judiciary does not make decisions based on the evaluations of others, it decides on behalf of the Turkish nation, he said.
On Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned the ruling in a written statement.
The court’s decision “blatantly contradicts the constitutional standards and international obligations that Turkey commits itself to as a member of the Council of Europe and EU accession candidate,” she said.
Ahval