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As a member of the Council of Europe, Turkey would have to implement its request to release Osman Kavala. But the government refuses. What's next? Despite the threat of sanctions by the Council of Europe, Turkey does not want to release the imprisoned cultural promoter Osman Kavala from prison. A Council of Europe spokesman said the country stuck to this stance until a response deadline expired on Wednesday. The Council of Europe in Strasbourg recently initiated infringement proceedings against its member country Turkey in a historically almost unique step. Ankara was asked to provide feedback on this by Wednesday at midnight.  This statement had been received, but its exact content was secret. It is completely open whether sanctions will actually follow or whether Turkey will even be excluded from the Council of Europe. This would initially require several intermediate steps. Israeli Police Spied On Its Citizens The background to the proceedings against Turkey is the constant refu...

The diplomatic crisis between Erdogan and the West has been resolved for the time being. But there is more to it: internationally documented human rights. And the future of Turkey. Erdogan's threats can no longer be relied on either. Last weekend the Turkish President threatened to have ten Western ambassadors, including the German one, deported as "undesirable persons". But after several haunting phone calls between Ankara , Washington and Berlin and a reassuring tweet from the US embassy in Ankara, Erdogan relented: expulsion canceled. But is that also the end of the crisis? Not at all. Recep Tayyip Erdogan had wanted to expel the ambassador, because she urged him to comply with a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR): Turkey should release the detained 2,017 Turkish cultural sponsor and philanthropist Osman Kavala. The Turkish judiciary initially accused Kavala of inciting the Gezi protests and, more recently, of participating in the attempted coup in 2...

Human rights activist Osman Kavala has been in Turkish custody without judgment for years. Diplomats from European countries had asked for his immediate release. In the dispute over the imprisoned Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala, Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the German ambassador, the US ambassador and eight other ambassadors declared "undesirable persons".  Erdoğan said that he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to declare the diplomats persona non grata "as soon as possible". The ambassadors made a joint appeal earlier this week to demand the release of Kavala, which aroused the anger of the Turkish government. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs then summoned the ambassadors of Germany and nine other countries, including the USA, France, Canada and Denmark, because of the demand. Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu had said that a recommendation by the ambassador to the judiciary in an ongoing process was unacceptable. Kavala has been detai...