ABTTF President: “As emphasised in the reports in question, following the legal scandals that have taken place in our country in recent years, the vast majority of citizens no longer trust either the government or the judiciary. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we too have lost all trust in our country’s judiciary. How could we? For 17 years, we have been waiting for the execution of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments concerning three of our community’s associations, and for the Court of Cassation of our country to issue a decision in this regard, but to no avail!’’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have strongly criticised Greece for serious violations of the rule of law and press freedom.
A report published by HRW titled ‘‘From Bad to Worse: The Deterioration of Media Freedom in Greece’’ notes that the government’s actions and failures have led to a media freedom crisis in the country, threatening democracy and the rule of law.
The HRW report notes that since the New Democracy (ND) government came to power in July 2019, there has been a hostile environment towards independent media and journalists in Greece, with harassment, intimidation, surveillance and malicious lawsuits restricting media freedom and undermining freedom of expression and the public's right to information.
RSF’s 2025 report also highlights that Greece has fallen one place in the press freedom index compared to last year, ranking 89th out of 180 countries, and is classified as a ‘‘problematic country’’. The report states that press freedom in Greece has been in a systematic crisis since 2021, citing the scandal involving the wiretapping of journalists by the National Intelligence Service (EYP) and the unsolved murder of experienced journalist Giorgos Karaivaz.
“Our country Greece continues to face harsh criticism at the international level for systematic violations of human rights and the rule of law. Now, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have published reports highlighting that press freedom, democracy, and the rule of law are under serious threat in our country. As emphasised in these reports, following the legal scandals that have unfolded in recent years, the vast majority of citizens no longer trust either the government or the judiciary. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we too have lost all trust in our country’s judiciary. How could we not? For 17 years, we have been waiting for the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to be executed its regarding three of our community’s associations, and for our country’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, to issue a decision in this regard—but to no avail!’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
