The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in Kavala v. Türkiye (No. 2) on 25 August 2026. By 15 votes to 2, the Court set out three clear obligations for Türkiye:
⚖️ The ECtHR Grand Chamber ruled that Osman Kavala must be released as soon as possible.
🚫 It stated that Kavala’s conviction must be regarded as “null and void” under the European Convention on Human Rights.
🔄 The Court required Türkiye to eliminate all consequences of the conviction. This entails taking the necessary measures, including the reopening of the criminal proceedings.
⛓️ It described Kavala’s post-conviction detention as a deprivation of liberty resulting from a “flagrant denial of justice.”
📌 Violations found by the Court:
🕊️ Article 5: Right to liberty and security
⚖️ Article 6: Right to a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal, and the rights of the defence
🗣️ Article 10: Freedom of expression
🤝 Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association
🎯 Article 18: Use of restrictions on these rights for political purposes and purposes not prescribed by the Convention
⛓️ Article 3: Absence of a mechanism allowing a genuine review of the aggravated life sentence and providing a possibility of conditional release
🚨 The ECtHR also stated that the Kavala case was indicative of a systemic problem.
🏛️ The Court drew attention to the detention and prosecution of political opponents, human rights defenders and journalists in Türkiye on the basis of broadly or artificially construed criminal charges, as well as to structural problems concerning the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
🇹🇷 Türkiye is required to:
🔓 Release Kavala as soon as possible;
🚫 Eliminate all consequences of his conviction; and
🛡️ Adopt general measures to prevent similar violations from recurring.
💶 The Court also awarded Kavala €70,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and €43,342.57 for costs and expenses.
🔎 In summary:
The ECtHR did not merely call for Kavala’s release. It expressly declared that his conviction was legally invalid under the Convention and that the violations identified by the Court would continue for as long as he remained in prison.
🔗 Full text of the ECtHR Grand Chamber judgment:
