ABTTF President: “In the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases, we said that unless the ECtHR judgments were executed, similar cases would come before the ECtHR. Unfortunately, we were right. In circumstances where the ECtHR judgments regarding the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases have not been executed by Greece for the past 16 years, the dissolution of this association, which has not gone beyond the statute to date, is a step taken to punish not only our association but also our community’’.
The Civil Court of First Instance of Rodopi decided to dissolve the fans’ association established in Komotini under the name ‘‘Western Thrace Fenerbahce Culture and Sports Association’’ in 2022 on 28 May 2024.
Following the hearing held on 6 September 2023, the Court of First Instance with a Single Judge of Rodopi ruled to revoke the registration of the ‘‘Western Thrace Fenerbahce Association’’ with the decision announced on 28 May.
A lawsuit was filed requesting the revocation of the registration of the fans’ association established in Komotini under the name of ‘‘Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association’’, claiming that its name was against the law, and the objection was withdrawn at the hearing dated 14 June 2023. The second lawsuit was filed by the Rodopi First Instance Prosecutor’s Office on 16 June 2023, and it was claimed in the indictment that the expression ‘‘Western Thrace’’ in the name of the association was against the law and public order. The hearing of the case for the closure of the association, which was brought to justice for the third time in nine months, was held on 6 September 2023, and the Kafkasköy (Thrilorio) Pontus Sports and Culture Association in the region also intervened in the case against the Fenerbahçe Association.
President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oğlu made the following statement: ‘‘We are very disappointed with the decision to dissolve the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Association, and we condemn this decision, which is a clear violation of the freedom of association. In the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases, we said that unless the ECtHR judgments were executed, similar cases would come before the ECtHR. Unfortunately, we were right. In circumstances where the ECtHR judgments regarding the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases have not been executed by Greece for the past 16 years, the dissolution of this association, which has not gone beyond the statute to date, is a step taken to punish not only our association but also our community. This is one step further in the usurpation of our rights and freedoms by the state. We will not remain silent in face of this unlawfulness’’.
