ABTTF President: “Our country has failed to execute three judgments issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding our associations in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for almost 18 years. The Court of Cassation (Arios Pagos), our country’s highest judicial body, which rejected the appeals of our three associations in this group of cases, disregards the ECtHR’s judgments and case-law with its political rulings. Our country must promptly execute the ECtHR judgments concerning our associations in full and effectively and take all necessary measures to protect and develop the rule of law, which is indispensable to democracy’’.
Member of the European Parliament (MEP)and Rapporteur for the EP’s Rule of Law Report, Kostas Arvanitis (GUE/NGL, Greece), in an interview with the Avgi newspaper, drew attention to the serious decline in the rule of law in Greece, noting that this situation has had serious consequences for both democracy and the economy in the country.
Arvanitis stated that the weakness of judicial independence in Greece, the lack of transparency in public administration and institutional decay have undermined citizens’ trust in the state. He added that no serious investor would make capital investments in a country where the predictability of the law and the swift and effective administration of justice are not guaranteed.
‘‘As clearly indicated by Arvanitis, who represents Greece in the European Parliament, our country has been experiencing serious problems, particularly in recent years, regarding the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Ranked among the lowest in Europe in the 2025 global rule of law index, our country is also severely criticised in the Rule of Law Reports of the European Commission and the European Parliament. Instead of taking urgent steps to prevent the systematic violation of the rule of law, the government distorts the facts, ignores the problems and manipulates international public opinion. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we have been directly affected for years by the serious decline in the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in our country. Our country has failed to execute three judgments issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding our associations in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for almost 18 years. The Court of Cassation (Arios Pagos), our country’s highest judicial body, which rejected the appeals of our three associations in this group of cases, disregards the ECtHR’s judgments and case-law with its political rulings. Our country must promptly execute the ECtHR judgments concerning our associations in full and effectively and take all necessary measures to protect and develop the rule of law, which is indispensable to democracy’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks of Europe (ABTTF).
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
