https://ahvalnews.com/-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey will not respect the Council of Europe’s (CoE) decisions, NTV reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the CoE’s Committee of Ministers voted to refer Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as the next step in disciplinary procedures over the continued imprisonment of philanthropist and civil society activist Osman Kavala.
The ECHR will now rule as to whether the country is in breach of its legal obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights for failing to comply with the court’s repeated calls for Kavala’s release. ECHR rulings are binding for CoE member states.
A Turkish court again ruled for Kavala’s continued detention at his latest trial hearing on Jan. 17.
Responding to the CoE decision, Erdoğan asserted the independence of Tukey’s domestic juridical system.
“We expect our courts to be respected,” he said.
Possible CoE action against Turkey includes the removal of voting rights and eventual suspension from the body. It is only the second time disciplinary procedures have been invoked in the CoE’s near 75-year history.
“What the ECHR said, what the CoE said, this is not our concern,” Erdoğan said during a press briefing in Ankara ahead of his departure for Ukraine. “We will not recognise those who do not recognise Turkish courts.”
Kavala has been in pre-trial detention since November 2017 on charges of espionage and plotting to overthrow the government through the 2013 Gezi Park protests.