Faith under fire: How a mosque case in Western Thrace reveals Greek oppression of minority Turks

Underlining that the 17-month prison sentences handed down by the court cannot be explained by any legal logic, Baltaci argues that Athens has turned the judiciary into an instrument of punishment.

Stating that the struggle for rights cannot be criminalised, he lays bare the ideological underpinnings of the court’s decision:

“This verdict is openly political. You cannot dispense justice by declaring those who seek their rights to be criminals. The principles of democracy and the rule of law cannot be sacrificed to political calculations. We used no violence, nor did we disturb public order. We simply defended the rights of our people that have been usurped.” 

In April this year, Türkiye also issued a strongly worded statement calling on Greece to uphold the rights of elected Turkish minority religious leaders in Western Thrace.

Ankara has been the most vocal critic of Greece’s treatment of the Turkish community, and the issue has long been a sore point in Turkish-Greek relations.

Baltaci also called out Greece’s hypocrisy, noting that it seeks to defend democratic values as an EU member while disregarding international law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 

“The rule of law, human rights and democracy are the very foundations of the European Union. If these values are truly universal, they must apply to the Western Thrace Turks as well,” he adds.

A mockery of justice

Ozan Ahmetoglu, a former president of the Iskece Turkish Union and another defendant in the case, also sees the events at the Cinar Mosque as a reflection of the minority community’s instinct to stand up for its faith and rights. 

Criticising the verdict handed down by the Greek justice system, Ahmetoglu argues that the court has not only departed from its legal foundations but has also been instrumentalised to bring the minority into line. 

He also denied Athens’ allegations of violence and obstruction of worship.

“The allegation that we obstructed religious worship does not reflect the truth; it was not us but the arrival of the state-appointed muftis at the mosque that interrupted the Friday prayer…there were peaceful and democratic protests, but no physical intervention or violence of any kind took place whatsoever.” 

He pointed out that people from outside Iskece were brought to the court, including members of the FETO terrorist group, to intimidate the minority Turks and create a sense of Greek supremacy.

One of the most striking moments in the fourteen-hour trial was the contradictory stance displayed by the state-appointed mufti who took the witness stand. 

Ahmetoglu recounts the stark contrast between the mufti’s written statement and his conduct in court. 

“In his written statement, he had indicated that he did not want anyone to be punished over this incident and had not requested that charges be filed. Yet in court, he said the defendants should be punished as a deterrent,” Ahmetoglu says.

Stating that the true purpose of the case was not to punish what had taken place at the mosque but that it was rooted in the mufti dispute that has remained unresolved for over forty years, Ahmetoglu argues that the state intended this verdict as a warning to the minority community.

Stating that the court verdict will not deter them from their path, Ahmetoglu charts the course of the struggle ahead.

“No democratic struggle for rights comes to an end because of pressure…we will of course continue our struggle within the framework of law and democracy.”

Mustafa Trampa, the elected mufti of Iskece, also underlined that behind the events at the Cinar Mosque in October 2024 lies a century-long struggle for freedom of belief. 

“The events…are, in fact, a manifestation of the mufti dispute that has been ongoing since 1985. That is, the incompatibility between the will of the community and the practices of the state,” he tells TRT World. 

Stating that the show of Turkish solidarity outside the Iskece courthouse represented not an individual but a collective stand, Trampa also called on the international community to speak up for the minorities of Western Thrace.

“This is not a personal matter; it is a case of existence and identity, shaped by the profound sense of belonging shown by the Muslim Turkish minority,” he adds.