The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) has raised concerns about the Western Thrace Turkish minority’s right to elect its muftis and the status of its religious institutions before the UN Human Rights Council.
The federation submitted a written statement to the council’s 63rd regular session, being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from September 7 to October 7.
In the statement, titled “Ongoing interference with the religious autonomy of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace in Greece and violations of freedom of religion,” the ABTTF said the minority’s religious status and rights were guaranteed under the 1913 Treaty of Athens and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.
It said these arrangements gave the minority the right to elect its muftis and administer its religious institutions.
According to the federation, the minority elected its own muftis until 1985, but after a legal change in 1991, the Greek state began appointing them, effectively ending the community’s ability to choose its own religious leaders.
The ABTTF said that Law No. 4964, enacted in 2022, changed the status of the mufti offices by turning them into public institutions under Greece’s Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Ministry.
The federation said a state-appointed mufti was installed in Didymoteicho (Dimetoka) in 2026, while similar appointment procedures were underway in Xanthi (Iskece) and Komotini (Gumulcine).
It argued that while followers of other recognised religions in Greece can select their religious leaders, the religious institutions of the Western Thrace Turkish minority remain under state control, raising concerns about freedom of religion or belief and equality.
In Greece, the state appoints the religious leaders, or muftis, of the Western Thrace Turkish minority and the administrative boards of minority foundations.
The Turkish minority opposes the practice and calls for community-elected muftis to be recognised.
