ANKARA: Turkey’s top court has again delayed the appeal of Turkish philanthropist and activist, Osman Kavala, for release from his detention of more than three years, despite the fact he has not not been convicted on any charge.

On Tuesday, the First Chamber of Turkish Constitutional Court deferred the application of Kavala to the Grand Chamber. It is the second time that the court has delayed his appeal. Experts note that the move is to gain time before the jailed rights defender’s first trial begins on Dec. 18 at a heavy penal court in Istanbul.

Rights activists, international community and opposition parties have been urging the release of Kavala, who was arrested in the wake of an attempted coup in 2016.

He was accused of organizing the anti-government Gezi protests in 2013 and attempting to change the constitutional order and to overthrow the government. Having been acquitted in the trial in February, Kavala was arrested again on the same day, this time on charges of “political or military espionage” — “surreal” charges that he denies.

Kavala applied to the Turkish top court arguing that “his right to personal liberty and security was violated as his arrest was unlawful.”

“Osman Kavala has been held in detention for over three years without any credible evidence of having committed a crime,” said Gina S. Lentine, senior program officer for Europe and Eurasia at Freedom House.

Freedom House has repeatedly urged the Turkish government to release Kavala.

“His case is emblematic and represents the stories of thousands of other activists, journalists, scholars, writers, artists, political figures, lawyers, and others who have been subjected to politically motivated proceedings in response to exercising their fundamental right to free expression,” Lentine told Arab News.

Last December, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Kavala’s “politically motivated” prolonged pretrial detention was not lawful and was serving “other purposes.” Turkey is a contracting party to the European court and is obliged to follow its rulings.

In its ruling, the court underlined that “in the absence of other relevant and sufficient circumstances, the mere fact that the applicant had had contacts with a suspected person or with foreign nationals cannot be considered as sufficient evidence to satisfy an objective observer that he (Kavala) could have been involved in an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order.”

“The European Court of Human Rights is one of the few remaining tools that civil society in Turkey has to hold its government accountable for rights violations, which is why its rulings are so important,” Lentine said.

“It is deeply concerning that the Turkish government refuses to respond to the European Court’s judgments and begs the question as to how the Council of Europe can more forcefully hold Turkey accountable for flouting the conventions to which it is party, like the European Convention on Human Rights,” she said.

Bulent Arinc, a confidant of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, resigned last month from the government’s high advisory council after making controversial remarks about judicial reform in Turkey. He called for the release of Kavala from prison, saying charges against the philanthropist were baseless.

Turkey is expected to prioritize judicial reform in early 2021, but no improvement on Kavala’s situation is expected after recent remarks by Erdogan saying “he would never defend Kavala” as he considers him the sponsor behind the 2013 protests.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker, Utku Cakirozer, said the Tuesday ruling produced another violation of rights for Kavala by extending the imprisonment period.

“They are sending the balls to each other to prolong his victimization despite all previous rulings from the European top court. It is unacceptable to keep someone behind bars for 1,148 days,” he told Arab News.

According to Cakirozer, the Kavala case has turned into a symbol of the state of the rule of law in Turkey.

“It is a case that undermines Turkey’s international claims in terms of democratization and rule of law,” he said.

Lentine from Freedom House agrees.

“It is concerning that the Turkish Constitutional Court, another one of the few remaining tools civil society can use to advocate for accountability and the rule of law domestically, has delayed its ruling to enforce the European Court’s judgments on Kavala,” she said. “This delay creates the impression that the Constitutional Court is simply waiting for the local court’s decision on Dec. 18 in order to make their decision.”

CHICAGO: The peace accords that Israel has signed with the UAE and Bahrain will serve as a foundation to expand energy trade, US Energy Secretary Daniel Brouillette said on Tuesday.

The Trump administration is moving quickly to invite other Arab nations — including Oman, Sudan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — to partner with Israel to expand its Trans-Israel Pipeline (TIPline) to carry oil and include other energy resources, Brouillette added.

The pipeline extends from the Gulf of Aqaba in southern Israel to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon just north of the Gaza Strip.

The TIPline was built in 1968, originally in partnership with the shah of Iran, to sidestep oil deliveries through the Suez Canal. Israel later worked with Russia to supply oil to Asian countries.

“There has been some good work done … on the movement of gas throughout the region between Israel and Egypt,” Brouillette said.

“We think there are some opportunities … for the movement of both crude oil and perhaps other products in that pipeline (TIPline).”

Bouillette said the exchange between Israel and its Arab neighbors could also include other energy sources, adding: “We do think there are some opportunities with regard to the movement of electricity.”

He spoke of “the enormous opportunity that we have for … the development of hydrogen and movement of hydrogen throughout the region. There seems to be a fair amount of interest in those technologies as well.”

Brouillette said the Abraham Accords signed by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain will allow the expansion of agreements with other Arab countries to begin in January.

He said he could not speculate on what “any new administration that might come down the road” might do, but he expects the progress to continue.

“I know Egypt has a great relationship with Israel. They’ve conducted some conversations under an organization called the EasternMed Gas Forum. We expect those types of conversations will continue,” he added.

The US goal and interest is to “produce energy and make it available to the region, but also to create economic opportunities for Egypt, for Israel, for others who wish to provide natural gas or perhaps crude oil to the others in the world,” he said.

Brouillette added that his department is exploring expanding renewable energy discussions throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. He said the Abraham Accords include an energy agreement to pursue these goals.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s military prosecution on Monday sentenced an activist to three years in prison for “collaborating” with Israel and traveling to the Jewish state, a judicial source said.
Kinda Al-Khatib, who is in her twenties, was arrested in June and charged with “collaborating with the enemy,” “entering the occupied Palestinian territories” and “collaborating with spies of the Israeli enemy.”
Lebanon is technically still at war with Israel and forbids its citizens from traveling there.
A United Nations peacekeeping force patrols the border area between the neighboring countries.
“The military court… issued a ruling imposing a three year prison sentence with hard labor on Kinda Al-Khatib,” said the judicial source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to comment on the issue.
Prior to her arrest, Khatib on Twitter had criticized Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite movement that fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel.
Her family and activists have denounced her arrest as “political” because of her tweets against those in power.
Lebanese media and activists have drawn a parallel between Khatib’s case and that of actor Ziad Itani, who was also accused of “collaborating” with Israel in 2017.
Itani was declared innocent and released several months later, and a high-ranking security officer was then charged with “fabricating” the case.
Hezbollah is the only party not to have disarmed after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, since when it has also become a major player in Lebanese politics.
The Shiite group is designated a “terrorist” entity by many Western governments, but its supporters credit it with ending two decades of Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.
It fought a 33-day war against Israeli forces in 2006 that killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and over 160 Israelis, the majority soldiers.

TUNIS: Tunisian authorities ordered a curfew in regions in southern Tunisia after at least a man was killed and dozens of people wounded, two seriously, in tribal clashes that broke out over a land dispute.
According to the official TAP news agency, the curfew from 4 p.m. to 5 a. m., starting on Monday, was decided by governors of Medenine and Kebili to prevent further violence.
The inhabitants were fighting over the ownership of an area called Aïn Sekhouna, which is located between the two and boasts a hot spring in the middle of the desert. The governorates of Medenine and Kebili are close to the Libyan and Algerian borders.
According to the official TAP news agency, security forces backed by military units used tear gas to disperse those involved, many of whom were armed with sticks and shotguns.
The security forces union reported 83 wounded who were transferred to nearby hospitals using ambulances from surrounding areas. TAP reported that four security officers were injured in the clashes and a security vehicle ransacked.
Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi gave instructions to the ministers of the interior and of defense to hold a crisis meeting in the hope of finding a solution to the dispute “by legal means.”
Tunisian President Kais Saied traveled by helicopter to the disputed area. He urged residents to make reason prevail over violence and warned against internal threats to the Tunisian state, without providing details.
Meanwhile, Mechichi, on a visit to France on Monday, said he agreed with French Prime Minister Jean Castex on the need for a greater cooperation between the two countries on migrant issues, especially through development and investment policies in Tunisian regions where people entering illegally into Europe come from, according to TAP.
France said the visit comes out of solidarity between the two countries following an Oct. 29 Islamic extremist knife attack that killed three people in a Nice church. The chief suspect is a Tunisian man who illegally entered into Italy and then traveled to France.
Mechichi, who is on his first trip abroad since he took office on Sept. 2, is scheduled to visit Italy on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Monday imposed sanctions on its NATO ally Turkey over its purchase of a Russian air defense system, setting the stage for further confrontation between the two nations as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office.
The move comes at a delicate time in relations between Washington and Ankara, which have been at odds for more than a year over Turkey’s acquisition from Russia of the S-400 missile defense system, along with Turkish actions in Syria, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and in the eastern Mediterranean.
The US had previously kicked Turkey out of its F-35 stealth fighter development and training program over the purchase, but had taken no further steps despite persistent warnings from American officials who have long complained about the purchase of the S-400, which they say is incompatible with NATO equipment and a potential threat to allied security.
“The United States made clear to Turkey at the highest levels and on numerous occasions that its purchase of the S-400 system would endanger the security of US military technology and personnel and provide substantial funds to Russia’s defense sector, as well as Russian access to the Turkish armed forces and defense industry,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
“Turkey nevertheless decided to move ahead with the procurement and testing of the S-400, despite the availability of alternative, NATO-interoperable systems to meet its defense requirements,” he said in a statement.
“I urge Turkey to resolve the S-400 problem immediately in coordination with the United States,” he said. “Turkey is a valued Ally and an important regional security partner for the United States, and we seek to continue our decades-long history of productive defense-sector cooperation by removing the obstacle of Turkey’s S-400 possession as soon as possible.”
The sanctions target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries, the country’s military procurement agency, its chief Ismail Demir and three other senior officials. The penalties block any assets the four officials may have in US jurisdictions and bar their entry into the US. They also include a ban on most export licenses, loans and credits to the agency.
The administration had held off on imposing punitive sanctions outside of the fighter program for months, in part to give Turkish officials time to reconsider deploying it and, some suspect, due to President Donald Trump’s personal relationship with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However, in past months Turkey has moved ahead with testing of the system drawing criticism from Congress and others who have demanded the sanctions be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, which mandates penalties for transactions deemed harmful to US interests.
Coming just a month and-a-half before Biden assumes office, the sanctions pose a potential dilemma for the incoming administration, although the president-elect’s team has signaled it is opposed to Turkey’s use of the S-400 and the disunity within NATO it may cause.
Last month, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was prepared to discuss with the US its “anxiety” over the interoperability of the S-400s and the F-35s. The US reacted cooly to the suggestion and Pompeo shortly thereafter pointedly did not meet with any Turkish government officials on a visit to Istanbul.
Turkey tested the missile defense system in October for the first time, drawing a condemnation from the Pentagon.
Ankara says it was forced to buy the Russian system because the US refused to sell it American-made Patriot missiles. The Turkish government has also pointed to what it considers a double standard, as NATO member Greece uses Russian-made missiles.