Council of Europe urges Greece to implement ECtHR rulings on Western Thrace
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has called on Greece to promptly implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings regarding the organizational freedom of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
In its statement, the Committee criticized Greece for failing to comply with ECtHR decisions and its obligations concerning freedom of association. It emphasized that Greece has violated Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects freedom of association, and reiterated Greece’s duty to adhere to ECtHR judgments.
The Committee announced plans to revisit developments in the "Bekir Usta and Others" case group at its meeting in June 2025.
Background on the Cases and Rulings
Several Turkish associations in Western Thrace, such as the İskeçe Turkish Union (founded in 1927), the Gümülcine Turkish Youth Union (1928), and the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers’ Union (1936), were shut down in the 1980s for using "Turkish" in their names. Greece justified the closures by claiming that the Treaty of Lausanne recognized the minority as "Muslim" rather than "Turkish."
In 2005, the İskeçe Turkish Union and other associations took the issue to the ECtHR, which ruled in 2007 and 2008 that Greece had violated Article 11 of the ECHR. However, Greek courts resisted implementing these rulings, citing "national security" concerns in a 2017 legislative amendment.
The Committee has repeatedly urged Greece to address these violations and restore the associations’ rights to operate under their chosen names.
