1. On 18 February 2020, the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor issued a new detention order against Osman Kavala on allegedly new charges only few hours after a court decided on his acquittal and ordered his release. Osman Kavala was in detention since October 2017. In its judgement of 10 December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights has found that his arrest and detention were in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The re-arrest and continuing detention of Osman Kavala again raise concerns regarding the adherence of Turkey's judiciary to the international and European standards.

2. As a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey needs to apply the highest democratic standards and practices, including the strict respect of the fundamental principles of law, such as the right to a fair trial, presumption of innocence, or not being tried or punished for the same offence again. These are critical safeguards not only for the citizens of Turkey, but also for the functioning of an impartial and independent Turkish judiciary. Judicial proceedings cannot be used as a means of silencing critical voices.

3. The European Union shares the concerns expressed by the Secretary-General in her letter to the Turkish Justice Minister of 21 February 2020 as well as those expressed by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in her statement and report of 19 February 2020. We call upon the Turkish authorities to ensure that their actions are in compliance with Turkey's commitments under the European Convention for Human Rights, including by taking measures, in line with the Commissioner's recommendations, to restore judicial independence and stop the practice of restrictions, detentions, imprisonments, and other measures targeting journalists, academics, members of political parties, including parliamentarians, human rights defenders, social media users, and others exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms.

4. The EU will continue to closely monitor ongoing trials, including the Büyükada case.

The following countries align with this statement: Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Norway and Serbia.