ABTTF submits written contribution to the European Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) has submitted its written contribution to the European Commission for the 2025 Rule of Law Report. As part of the online consultation process open to civil society organizations and stakeholders in EU Member States, ABTTF aimed to highlight the challenges and human rights violations faced by the Western Thrace Turkish community in Greece.
In its submission, ABTTF emphasized that Greece continues to deny the existence of the Western Thrace Turkish community and its ethnic Turkish identity. It also underscored that Greece has persistently failed to implement European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings against it for 17 years, particularly in the Bekir Usta and Others case group, violating the Turkish community’s right to freedom of association.
ABTTF pointed out that on May 28, 2024, the Rhodope Court of First Instance ruled to shut down and deregister the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Fans’ Cultural and Sports Association, which was founded in Komotini in 2022. ABTTF argued that this decision, despite the association not violating its statutes, was yet another example of state-led suppression of the rights and freedoms of the Western Thrace Turkish community.
Regarding education, ABTTF highlighted that although the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 grants the community educational autonomy, the number of autonomous Turkish primary schools has been steadily decreasing due to closures. In the 2024-2025 academic year, four more Turkish primary schools were shut down, reducing the number of such schools from 188 in 2011 to just 86 today.
ABTTF also noted the lack of bilingual Turkish minority kindergartens in the region despite the community’s demands. Additionally, it criticized Greek authorities for ignoring requests to construct a new building for the İskeçe Turkish Minority Middle School and High School, despite the inadequacy of the existing facility.
Furthermore, ABTTF reported that members of the Western Thrace Turkish community, including minority MPs and prominent representatives, are frequently subjected to hate speech in mainstream Greek media. It pointed out that Turkish MPs are often scapegoated simply for attending events organized by Turkish community institutions or advocating for minority rights in parliament, with baseless and defamatory reports being published against them.
On religious autonomy, ABTTF reiterated that the Western Thrace Turkish community, under international treaties, has the right to elect its own religious leaders. However, since 1991, Greece has been appointing muftis and deputy muftis in the region, violating this autonomy. The organization criticized the Greek government for refusing to recognize the muftis elected by the Turkish community. ABTTF also condemned the 2022 Law on the Modernization of Mufti Offices, which placed these institutions under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports, further eroding the religious autonomy of the Turkish minority.
