On 11 October 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Hüseyin Baltacı, Ozan Ahmetoğlu, Bahri Belço, and Murat Köse, representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, for opposing the provocation by the then-appointed mufti regents of Komotini, Xanthi, and Didymoteicho during Friday prayers at the Çınar Mosque in Xanthi.
At the first hearing held on Friday, 27 March, 2026, at the One-member Magistrates’ Court of Xanthi, the case was adjourned to 5 June, 2026, at the request of the defense lawyers.
“Article 13 of the Greek Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and worship for all citizens. Furthermore, as the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we possess special rights guaranteed by the international conventions. The 1913 Treaty of Athens and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne explicitly define and guarantee our religious autonomy. However, with a law passed in 1991, the state officially usurped our right to appoint our own muftis, appointing them against the will of our community. In response, we elected our own muftis in Xanthi and Komotini. With the most recent law, our autonomous mufti offices were transformed into public offices under the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, completely eliminating our religious autonomy. Instead of finding solutions to our problems, the state ignored them, and our problems deepened each year. On 11 October 2024, four of our friends, who opposed the provocation of the appointed mufti regents, were charged by Greek state authorities with ‘‘obstructing the work of those performing public duties’’ and ‘‘disturbing public peace’’. This clearly staged a pre-planned scenario. The Orthodox Christian Church, the prevailing religion in our country, and other known religions freely choose their own religious leaders and maintain their own religious structures, but our rights, guaranteed by the international conventions, are being usurped. We are the real victims here! I want to address our four friends who have been charged: You are not alone! You have the support of a community of 150,000 people behind you!’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
