We learned with concern that the Elected Mufti of Xanthi, Mehmet Emin Aga was sentenced once again to 6 months imprisonment at a court session held on 1 December 1999 in Lamia, 550 km away from Xanthi, Greece. The lawsuit was brought against him on charges of illegal assumption of the title of Mufti in a message he released in 1998. A parliamentary delegation headed by Dr. Sema Pişkinsüt, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, was present at the trial.

This decision of the Court in Lamia is another violation of human rights of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace. We expect the relevant Greek authorities to conform their attitude toward Mehmet Emin Aga, with the international commitments undertaken by Greece.