The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has mandated the immediate release of philanthropist and activist Osman Kavala, who has been imprisoned in Turkey for almost a decade over charges that rights groups deem as politically motivated. The court found his continued detention to be unlawful and a violation of his right to a fair trial, freedom of expression, and association. The ECHR's ruling emphasized that Kavala's detention was predominantly driven by an ulterior motive to punish him for his role in the Gezi Park protests and silence him as a human rights defender. The court also deemed his aggravated life sentence as "inhuman and degrading treatment." The Turkish government has been accused of weaponizing its judiciary to target critics, and Kavala's case is seen as exposing a systemic problem in Turkey of the detention and prosecution of political opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists. Despite two previous ECHR rulings on Kavala's case, Turkey has refused to comply, raising questions about whether it will implement this third binding ruling. The Kavala case remains a significant point of contention between Ankara and Strasbourg, with the Council of Europe overseeing the execution of ECHR rulings by its 46 member states and having the power to impose sanctions for serious violations of the rule of law.