ABTTF President: “If international law is disregarded and replaced by a legal order shaped by the ruling power, all segments of the country will be negatively affected, especially vulnerable groups. We have seen this before, and we are experiencing it now. The fundamental reason behind the 18-year non-execution of the ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases is essentially the lack of belief that these judgments should be executed’’.
Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, in a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, 27 December 2025, described Amnesty International and the International Court of Justice in The Hague as ‘‘indifferent, leftist-dominated groups’’, adding, ‘‘No one should pay attention to them’’.
Subsequently, Minister for Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris also supported Georgiadis in a separate post on X. In his post, Plevris wrote the following: ‘‘The case law of many European and international courts, as well as the decisions of international and European bodies, has been influenced by a long-standing hegemony of left-wing ideology’’. He further noted, ‘‘They are not based on the conventions we have signed, but rather on how these same bodies interpret them, often with an anti-Western, anti-European approach and, in the field of migration, a pro-migrant stance… They often impose ideologically charged decisions on European peoples and the West’’.
According to Ekathimerini, the statements made by two ministers in Greece, where New Democracy is in power, regarding human rights organisations and the international court of justice also drew criticism from the opposition. Dimitris Mantzos, Parliamentary Spokesperson for the opposition PASOK, said in a statement on 29 December, ‘‘The unacceptable posts by ministers Georgiadis and Plevris call into question Greece’s participation in the international system for the interpretation and application of international law’’.
‘‘The statements made by the ministers are the clearest signs of how the principle of the rule of law is being undermined in our country. If international law is disregarded and replaced by a legal order shaped by the ruling power, all segments of the country will be negatively affected, especially vulnerable groups. We have seen this before, and we are experiencing it now. The fundamental reason behind the 18-year non-execution of the ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases is essentially the lack of belief that these judgments should be executed. Now, two ministers are openly questioning international law. Under these circumstances, can the legislative amendment to execute the ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases truly pave the way for the execution of these judgments? I highly doubt it. Indeed, as we also wrote to the Committee of Ministers, the aim is not to ensure the execution of ECtHR judgments, but to prolong the process as much as possible!’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
