Mufti Mete acquitted

The Elected Mufti of Xanthi Ahmet Mete was acquitted of a 15-month prison sentence for speaking at an event in 2016.

Mufti Mete objected to the sentence he received at the first hearing. The appeal hearing was held at Thessaloniki Three Judges Criminal Court of First Instance and Xanthi Mufti Ahmet Mete was acquitted of these charges. Thessaloniki Criminal Court of First Instance with Three Judges decided that the crime was not proven and acquitted Mufti Mete.

Mufti of Xanthi Ahmet Mete did not attend the hearing. Mete was represented by his lawyers Ahmet Kara and Giannis Barkas.

Thessaloniki Single Judge Criminal Court was sentenced in 2016 for the speech he gave at the Friendship Equality Peace Party (DEB) congress.

Meten was on trial for "disrupting public order by inciting discord among the people" for comparing the then FEP President Mustafa Çavuşoğlu to Rauf Denktaş, the Founding President of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” The court sentenced Mete to 15 months in prison, with 3 years suspended.

Regarding Mufti Mete's acquittal, his lawyer Giannis Barkas said: "Due to this statement, we find the court's decision to be legally correct, as the accusation in question has not been proven and did not cause any uprising as prescribed by law."