The European Court of Human Rights yesterday unanimously sentenced Greece to pecuniary compensation for violation of freedoms of thought, belief and religion envisaged and guaranteed under the Articles 9 and 41 of the European Convention on Human Rights . The charge had been brought by the elected Mufti of Komotini, Ibrahim Serif.

After having exhausted all local legal avenues, Ibrahim Serif, the elected mufti of Komotini, had appealed to the European Court of Human Rights on September 29, 1997 concerning the lawsuit of the Greek authorities against himself on charge of the illegal assumption of the title of Mufti. On January 26, 1999, the Court reviewed the application of Serif and ruled that the applicant’s complaints were admissable under the articles of the European Human Rights Convention regarding the freedom of belief, conscience and expression. At its last hearing on December 14,1999, the Court examined the merits of case and passed the above judgement.

As it is common knowledge, the Greek authorities have been violating the Turkish Muslim minority’s right to elect its Mufti since 1990, by disregarding the relevant provisions of the Treaty of Athens of 1913 and the Treaty of Laussanne of 1923.

We hope that this verdict of the European Court of Human Rights would help put an end to the unacceptable practices adversely affecting the freedom of belief and worship of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace. Besides, we expect that the ruling would also ensure a review of the Greek policies which have resulted in innumerable court cases and prison sentences of more than 100 months against the elected Mufti of Xhanti Mehmet Emin Aga.