ABTTF criticizes gaps in Greece's 2025 human rights report
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) has criticized the Hellenic National Commission for Human Rights (EEDA) for failing to address the longstanding structural problems, alleged rights violations and discrimination faced by the Western Thrace Turkish Minority in its 2025 annual report.
ABTTF said it had submitted a written opinion on the report to the relevant Greek authorities, arguing that the omission of issues concerning the Western Thrace Turkish Minority was one of the report's most significant shortcomings.
Minority rights concerns highlighted
According to ABTTF, the report does not address what it describes as the denial of the minority's ethnic Turkish identity by Greece, alleged systematic violations of its treaty-protected educational and religious autonomy, or what the organization characterizes as institutionalized hate speech targeting the minority.
ABTTF argued that these issues constitute fundamental human rights concerns that have previously been addressed in binding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers' longstanding supervision process, recommendations from United Nations human rights mechanisms and assessments by European Union institutions.
The organization also highlighted several specific concerns. It said Greece has continued to face criticism over the implementation of ECHR judgments concerning Turkish minority associations in the Bekir Usta and Others group of cases, while muftis elected by members of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority are not recognized by the state.
ABTTF further said Turkish minority primary schools in Western Thrace have been closed on the grounds of declining student numbers, which it argues conflicts with the minority's educational autonomy.
Call for greater monitoring
ABTTF called on EEDA to provide comprehensive coverage of the issues and alleged rights violations affecting the Western Thrace Turkish Minority in future annual reports.
The organization also urged the commission to monitor developments concerning the minority on a regular basis and establish systematic dialogue mechanisms with institutions representing the minority and relevant civil society organizations.
ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu said the organization's written submission was intended to make visible the problems and alleged human rights violations affecting the Western Thrace Turkish community that were absent from the 2025 report.
Habipoğlu argued that EEDA should include the human rights situation of the Western Thrace Turkish community in future reports as an integral part of Greece's overall human rights situation, saying this would make the commission's work on human rights protection more inclusive and comprehensive.
