On 2 February 2022, views by the Ministry had been made public on the decision by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) that the issue of execution of the Kavala judgment be referred to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In that statement, our expectation that the ECtHR assess the matter on a fair basis and not act as a first instance court was expressed.

Our communication with the CoE continued throughout the process. Information has been provided on a regular basis by the Ministry of Justice on the developments in the judicial proceedings in respect of the applicant. Moreover, regarding his detention, the ECtHR and the CoE Committee of Ministers were also notified about the conviction of the applicant as a result of the domestic proceedings.

However, the ECtHR has unfortunately failed to meet our expectations by the decision announced today (11 July 2022) and once again called into question the credibility of the European human rights system.

We expect from the CoE Committee of Ministers, which will follow the process during the next stage, that it sets aside its previous biased and selective approach, acts in common sense and in avoiding certain circles’ efforts to politicize the matter.