Turkish Minority and anti-Islamic hate crime incidents in the OSCE 2021 Hate Crimes Report
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has released its 2021 Hate Crimes Report.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) is also mentioned as one of the NGO’s contributing to the report.
In the report, includes statistical and descriptive information on hate crime incidents in the OSCE region.
ABTTF made a written contribution during the preparation phase of the OSCE 2021 Hate Crimes Report, reporting hate-based attacks and hate speech against Western Thrace Turkish Minority and anti-Islam in Greece.
In its written contribution, ABTTF stated that the Orthodox Church leader, Archbishop of Athens, Ieronimos, made anti-Islamic remarks in a documentary broadcast on a television channel. A hand-made explosive device was thrown into a building used as a mosque in Athens, and an anti-Islamic poster was hung in front of the historical Çelebi Sultan Mehmet Mosque in the town of Dimetoka reported.
The 2021 Hate Crimes Report, in which 41 participating States of the OSCE provide official data, includes information on hate incidents in 44 participating States as reported by 114 non-governmental organizations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and OSCE missions.
The report, which is the most comprehensive of its kind worldwide, records a total of 6,391 hate crime incidents in the OSCE region in 2021.
In the Greek section of the report, it is stated that according to the official data submitted by Greece, a total of 110 hate crimes were registered by the Greek police in 2021, two of which were prosecuted by the prosecutor's office.
In his statement on the report, OSCE/ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci underlined that hate crimes are devastating for the societies they affect and can destabilize entire societies at the same time, and that civil society plays a vital role in combating hate and intolerance in the OSCE region. He noted that they continue to be an invaluable partner for states.
On the occasion of the publication of the 2021 Hate Crimes Report, the OSCE/ODIHR urged states to deepen cooperation with non-governmental organizations fighting hate and make more efforts to support victims.
You can access the Greece section of the OSCE 2021 Hate Crimes Report at https://hatecrime.osce.org/greece?year=2021.
