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Warning from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe: The judgments of the ECtHR on Bekir-Ousta group of cases have not been implemented for 11 years

26.09.2019

Halit Habip Oğlu, President of ABTTF: “Neither the judiciary nor the executive is keen for the implementation of the judgements of the ECtHR”

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe discussed the Bekir-Ousta group of cases regarding the associations belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace in its meeting held on 23-25 September 2019 in Strasbourg. In its 1355th meeting, the Committee of Ministers openly criticized the non-implementation of the ECtHR judgments on Xanthi Turkish Union (İTB), Cultural Association of Turkish Women in the Prefecture of Rhodopi and Evros Minority Youth Association included in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases for 11 years.  

In its decision on 25 September 2019, the Committee of Ministers criticized that re-examination has not been conducted on the accusations in line with the-case law of the ECtHR despite of the amendment on Civil Procedure Code which was made in October 2017. Therefore, the Committee of Ministers stated that the Xanthi Turkish Union’s legal entity has not yet been restored and Cultural Association of Turkish Women in the Prefecture of Rhodopi and Evros Minority Youth Association have not been registered either.

The Committee of Ministers criticized the judgment of the Thrace Court of Appeal for the rejection of the application of Xanthi Turkish Union made following the adoption of the law 4491/2017 on procedural grounds.  The Committee also noted with concern that the Court of Cassation was not in a position to set the hearing earlier than 20 March 2020.

Moreover, the Committee urged again the Greek authorities to rapidly take all necessary measures so that the applicants’ cases are examined by the Greek domestic courts promptly and in full and effective compliance with Article 11 of the Convention and the European Court’s judgments and to keep the Committee informed about the ongoing legal procedure in Greece regarding Bekir-Ousta group of cases. 

The Committee noted with deep regret that the registration of Cultural Association of Turkish Women in the Prefecture of Xanthi in Western Thrace was rejected in 2017 by a final judgment of the Court of Cassation on grounds already criticized by the European Court of Human Rights in its 2008 judgments concerning the present cases. 

Similarly, the Committee of Ministers exhorted the Greek authorities to take additional measures, such as wide dissemination of the Court’s case-law and systematic training of domestic judges at all levels, to ensure that the domestic courts take decisions concerning the registration or dissolution of associations which are fully and effectively aligned with the Court’s case-law.

Lastly, the Committee decided to resume the examination of Bekir-Ousta group of cases regarding the association of Western Thrace Turks in its meeting in June 2020 following the hearing of the appeal made by Xanthi Turkish Union at the Court of Cassation. 

Halit Habip Oğlu, President of Federation of Western Thrace Turks said that “Our country Greece usurped the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and this usurpation still continues.  Our county has not implemented the judgments of the ECtHR for 11 years although Greece was found guilty in three cases brought to the ECtHR. Therefore, the Committee of Ministers makes the same call to Greece for 11 years concerning the cases monitored by the Committee.  Because neither the judiciary nor the executive is keen for the implementation of the ECtHR judgments despite of the amendment made after years.  As ABTTF, at national and international levels, we will follow these cases which became a political problem and support our applicant associations to the end. At the same time, we will continue to inform the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe about the ongoing legal process and developments at Greek domestic courts”. 

You can read the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe through the link below:  
https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectID=090000168097afe2

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