ABTTF President: “The Turkish community in Western Thrace is directly and most severely affected by the restriction of freedom of association in our country. Our country, which has failed to execute the three judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for over 17 years, has once again been condemned by the ECtHR in June 2025 for violating the freedom of association in a case brought by the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Xanthi’’.
In the 2025 Rule of Law Index published by the Washington-based independent organisation World Justice Project (WJP), Greece ranked 48th among 143 countries and 29th among 31 countries in Europe, ahead of only Bulgaria and Hungary.
This year’s report notes that the rule of law in Greece continues to decline, highlighting political interference in the judiciary, the weakening of judicial independence and delays in court cases.
It is noted that there are significant restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of association and citizen participation in Greece, and that democratic institutions in the country are functioning but are becoming less resilient and less reliable.
“The World Justice Project (WJP), which strives to advance the rule of law worldwide, has published its latest 2025 index, which lays bare the systematic violations of the rule of law and problems with judicial independence in our country Greece. The Turkish community in Western Thrace is directly and most severely affected by the restrictions on freedom of association in our country. Our country, which has failed to execute the three judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for over 17 years, was once again condemned by the ECtHR in June 2025 for violating the freedom of association in a case brought by the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Xanthi’. Our country, in awareness that the protection of the rule of law is one of the fundamental values of the European Union and the Council of Europe, of which it is a member, must promptly execute all ECtHR judgments concerning our associations in a full and effective manner and immediately cease its policy of denying our community’s Turkish identity”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
Please click below to access the country information on Greece of the WJP 2025 Rule of Law Index:
https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/global/2025/Greece/
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