Xanthi Turkish Union President Ahmetoğlu testifies about the march in 2021

Xanthi Turkish Union (ITB) President Ozan Ahmetoğlu stated that he testified within the scope of the investigation launched by the Xanthi Prosecutor's Office about the march organized by the Union in July 2021.

In a statement to the AA correspondent, İTB President Ahmetoğlu said, "Yesterday we went to the Xanthi Police Department and handed the statement in written form. We responded to the allegations. Now we will wait for the result." he said.

Reminding that the Xanthi Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation about the march, which was held after the Supreme Court of Appeals' decision rejected the restitution of the legal status of the ITB despite the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Ahmetoğlu said that the reason for the investigation was that provocative speeches were made against the Greek state and the decisions of the Court of Cassation, and false news was spread. and the allegations that the measures to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic were violated.

Stating that their demand is the implementation of the ECtHR decisions, "In our speech, we talked about the policy and practices of the Greek state, of which we are citizens, denying the national identity of the Western Thrace Turkish minority, and we expressed the grievances and the usurpation of rights caused by this. We explained our problems in a very democratic way." Ahmetoğlu said.

Emphasizing that the necessary permissions were obtained for the demonstration and that there was no outrage during the demonstration, Ahmetoğlu said, "It is sad for democracy and human rights."

Noting that after the investigation was launched, the Western Thrace Turkish minority received a message of support from all institutions and organizations and politicians, Ahmetoğlu said, "This shows that the ITB case, which has been going on for 39 years, is not just the case and struggle of an association, the president, but a struggle for the Turkish minority of Western Thrace to seek their rights."

Founded in 1927, the ITB was closed by Greece on the grounds that it had the word "Turk" in its name and that the minority in Western Thrace was defined as "Muslim" rather than "Turkish" in the Treaty of Lausanne.