International

This week, Osman Kavala, a political prisoner in Turkey, was sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of false and fabricated accusations. This is a disgrace. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Kavala, who has been imprisoned by the Turkish authorities for five years, is in illegal detention. Turkey's failure to respect this binding decision of the European Court of Human Rights is a disgrace to human rights and democratic values. As a result, the Council of Europe is considering terminating Turkey's membership.

Last Tuesday, the Dutch Socialist Senator and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Tiny Kox, showed his disgust at the injustice done to Kavala. In doing so, he joined a worldwide group of protests against the latest condemnation of Kavala. The Council of Europe, the Human Rights Commissioner and the Court are fully committed to putting an end to this injustice and demand Kavala's immediate release.