Imam elected by the congregation in Western Thrace acquitted in court
Former Imam of Alma village Mustafa Darmon, who was tried for usurpation of office, was acquitted by the Larissa criminal court.
A criminal case was brought against Mustafa Darmon, who has been imam for years in Agnila village of Xanthi, by the Larisa Prosecutor's Office on the charge of usurping the imamate office.
In the case that was held on Tuesday, June 21, the court acquitted Mustafa Darmon.
In the indictment sent to Imam Mustafa Darmon on 20 June 2017, "It was stated that he was not given the duty of imam by the Mufti of Xanthi (appointed by the state).
For this reason, a lawsuit was filed on the charge of usurping office on the grounds that Darmon was performing the Ramadan prayer as an imam, although he was not appointed by law.
The case was heard at the Larisa Single Judge Criminal Court of First Instance on Tuesday, June 21.
The witnesses of the case were Mehmet Emin Şinikoğlu, the so-called appointed mufti of Xanthi, (contrary to the Treaty of Lausanne, which the public did not accept) and Hasan Molla Şakir, the trustee of Agnila village. However, the so-called mufti Şinikoğlu, who was forcibly retired by the state, did not attend the case. The court acquitted Mustafa Darmon, now ex-Agnila Imam, who was tried on charges of usurpation of office, by ruling that he was innocent.
Imam Mustafa Darmon has the distinction of being the first imam in the history of the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish Minority to be prosecuted by the state, after the elected Muftis, on the charge of "the usurpation of office".
Mustafa Darmon's lawyer Ahmet Kara spoke to Millet. Ahmet Kara said in his statement:
Sea"In the case discussed in Larisa, in his opinion the prosecutor stated that Imam Mustafa Darmon should be acquitted. As a justification, he said that as a result of the information obtained during the trial, the imams were determined by the people in the Western Thrace region and this was a general practice.
It was stated that the fact that the mufti appointed by the state did not have any action or objection from the defendant Mustafa Darmon regarding his appointment, and that he could not appoint his own imam. This is the evidence that requires the defendant's acquittal. As a result, the court declared that Mustafa Darmon was acquitted after it was understood that the charges were baseless.”
