ABTTF warns Brussels: Rights violations against Western Thrace Turks on EU agenda
Participating in the Commission’s online consultation, ABTTF provided detailed input for the Greece country report, outlining systemic problems affecting the community’s identity rights, freedom of association, education, religious autonomy, and media representation.
Denial of Identity and Non-Implementation of ECHR Rulings
ABTTF emphasized that Greece continues to deny the existence of the Western Thrace Turkish community and its Turkish ethnic identity, despite the guarantees of educational and religious autonomy enshrined in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.
In this context, the federation underlined that associations containing the word “Turkish” in their name are still denied legal registration. It also noted that the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Bekir Usta and Others case group have remained unimplemented for nearly 18 years, constituting a persistent violation of freedom of association.
New ECHR Conviction in 2025
ABTTF recalled that it applied to the ECHR in 2018 following the refusal to register the Xanthi Turkish Women’s Cultural Association. In its June 24, 2025 judgment in the case of Sağır and Others, the Court once again unanimously ruled that Greece had violated freedom of association, reaffirming its established case law.
Systematic Closures of Minority Schools
The contribution also highlighted serious violations in the field of education, noting that autonomous Turkish minority primary schools in Western Thrace are being systematically closed under the pretext of “low student numbers.”
With the closure of three more schools in the 2025–2026 academic year, the number of Turkish minority primary schools has dropped from 188 in 2011 to just 83, ABTTF stated. Despite the implementation of compulsory preschool education, authorities continue to deny permission for bilingual Turkish kindergartens. Additionally, the long-standing demand for a new building for the Xanthi Turkish Minority Junior High School and High School has been ignored for years.
Erosion of Religious Autonomy
ABTTF further pointed out that Greece has been violating the religious autonomy of the Western Thrace Turkish community since 1991 through the appointment of muftis by the state.
The federation stressed that the “Law on the Modernization of Mufti Offices,” adopted in 2022, placed autonomous mufti institutions entirely under state control, effectively abolishing religious self-governance guaranteed under international law.
Marginalization and Hate Speech in Media
Finally, ABTTF noted that the Western Thrace Turkish community is systematically marginalized in mainstream Greek media, frequently subjected to hate speech, and that prominent community representatives are often targeted through unfounded and defamatory reporting.
ABTTF called on the European Commission to take these findings into account in the 2026 Rule of Law Report and to urge Greece to comply with its European and international human rights obligations.
