ABTTF President: “Whilst associations bearing the words ‘‘Pomak’’, ‘‘Roma’’ or ‘‘Armenian’’ in their names are active in Greece, the refusal to authorise associations bearing the words ‘‘Turkish’’ and ‘‘Macedonian’’ in their names constitutes a clear double standard. ECtHR judgments are not merely recommendations; they are binding on Greece. Greece must execute these judgments in full and without delay and put an end to selective and discriminatory practices regarding the freedom of association”.
The case concerning the legal status of the ‘‘Centre for the Macedonian Language in Greece’’, which was due to be heard on 21 September 2026 before the 4th Civil Chamber of the Greek Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos), has been postponed by approximately one year.
The “Centre for the Macedonian Language in Greece”, based in Florina, was registered by court order in 2022, and applications seeking the dissolution of the organisation were rejected in 2023. However, the Court of Appeal of Western Macedonia revoked the organisation’s registration in 2024, following which the case was referred to the Greek Court of Cassation.
At its meeting in March 2025, during which it examined the execution of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in the case of House of Macedonian Civilization and Others v. Greece, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe noted that it had serious concerns regarding the subsequent revocation by the Court of Appeal of the registration of the Centre for the Macedonian Language, which had been granted in 2022. The Committee had emphasised the importance of ensuring that the proceedings before the Court of Cassation are concluded swiftly and in full compliance with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the freedom of association, and with the case-law of the ECtHR.
In 1998, in the case of Sidiropoulos and Others v. Greece, and in 2015 in the case of House of Macedonian Civilization and Others v. Greece, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Greece had violated the freedom of association. The House of Macedonian Civilization and Others v. Greece case remains under review by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
“The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Greece had violated the freedom of association in the cases of Sidiropoulos and Others and the House of Macedonian Civilization and Others, as well as in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases, which involved associations of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace. Despite the passage of years, the requirements of these judgments are still not being executed, and the domestic legal process continues to drag on. Whilst associations bearing the words ‘‘Pomak’’, ‘‘Roma’’ or ‘‘Armenian’’ in their names are permitted to operate in Greece, the refusal to authorise associations bearing the words ‘‘Turkish’’ and ‘‘Macedonian’’ in their names constitutes a clear double standard. ECtHR judgments are not mere recommendations; they are binding on Greece. Greece must execute these judgments in full and without delay, and put an end to selective and discriminatory practices regarding the freedom of association’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
