On April 25, 2022, renowned Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in prison. On July 11, almost three months after the ruling, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) said Turkey failed to fulfill its obligation under Article 46/1 of the International Convention on Human rights by not complying with the court’s 2019 ruling to release Kavala. Now, it is up to the Committee of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of the ECtHR rulings, what measures to take against Turkey after the country failed to comply with the court’s ruling. This could lead to Turkey’s suspension from the Council of Europe. In anticipation, the Foreign Ministry of Turkey said they expected the Committee of Ministers “to act without bias and with common sense” in a statement. Grand Chamber judgment on Turkiye’s compliance with the Court’s ruling in the case of Mr Kavalahttps://t.co/Mrau2JTMKN#ECHR #CEDH #ECHRpress pic.twitter.com/HJB5y1xKZ7 — ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) July 11, 2022 Kavala, a successful Turkish businessman who has supported numerous civil society initiatives in Turkey over the years, including the Open Society Foundation Turkey, was taken into custody on October 18, 2017. Two weeks later he was arrested on charges of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” and “attempting to overthrow the government” over his alleged financing of the Gezi Protests in 2013. He has been in a maximum-security prison since November 2017. In February 2020, Kavala was acquitted however, hours later, he was accused of involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. Although he was cleared one month after this accusation, Kavala was kept in remand detention on the charge of “political or military espionage.” Then in January 2021, his acquittal in the Gezi Park trial was reversed, and during the trial held in February 2021, the court ruled to combine charges leveled against Kavala in the Gezi Park trial with the 2016 coup, ruling to continue his detention. Kavala’s lawyers have said the indictment is a presumptive fiction lacking any evidence. International human rights organizations and civil society groups in Turkey have said Kavala’s arrest is politically motivated. Last year, on the fourth year anniversary of Kavala’s arrest, Turkey found itself in the midst of a diplomatic storm when the embassies of 10 countries signed a statement on the ongoing detention of the philanthropist. In response to the signed statement, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would expel 10 diplomats, including seven of Turkey’s NATO allies and major trading partners. The president described the statement as “impudence,” declaring the diplomats “persona non grata.” But when all 10 signatories reiterated their commitment to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, recognizing Turkey’s sovereignty and independence, the crisis was averted. On July 12, Osman Kavala issued a statement in which he said the July 11 ruling “clearly revealed that the unlawful practice and political influences on the judiciary still continue and the laws are used in an arbitrary fashion with political motives.” #OsmanKavala‘s statement on the recent ECtHR judgment: “I believe that this decision will give strength to those members of the Turkish judiciary who continue to act in accordance with the rule of law despite political pressures.” pic.twitter.com/BeuR1pQ6K9 — Kavala'ya Özgürlük (@FreeOsmanKavala) July 12, 2022 Julia Hall, Deputy Director for Research at Amnesty International’s Europe office said the recent ruling shamed Turkey’s authorities in a statement issued by the organization on July 11. “Today’s ruling lays bare yet again the failure of the government to abide by a legally binding obligation. Turkey’s continuing inaction compounds the egregious suffering of Osman Kavala and his family,” said Hall, adding, Kavala’s case is emblematic of the clampdown on civil society and the rollback in human rights protections that affects everyone in Turkey. If Turkey persists in its stubborn refusal to release Osman Kavala, it will further debase itself as one of the Council of Europe’s founding members. The Council of Europe, its member states and the European Union must urge Turkey to finally free Osman Kavala and the many others detained in similar circumstances. According to the reporting by Deutsche Welle (DW), “it is rare for the [ECtHR] court to explicitly reprimand a state for failing to abide by a decision.