Article 11 of the Treaty of Athens (1913) laid down the following provision:
Article XI.- "Each Mufti will be elected by the Moslem electors in their respective jurisdiction areas."
This provision is also repeated in the Third Protocol annexed to the Treaty.
In 1920, Greece put into effect the Law No: 2345 for the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty of Athens.
In 1990, in violation of the provisions of the Treaty of Athens, Greece promulgated a Presidential Decree which envisages the abrogation of the Law No: 2345 and the appointment of muftis by the governors of the provinces.
This Decree is a breach of the provisions of both the Treaty of Athens and the Treaty of Lausanne. Article 40 of the Lausanne Treaty states that the persons belonging to the Minority would enjoy the same treatment and security in law and in fact as other Greek (or in the case of Greek Minority in Turkey, Turkish) nationals in the management and control of their religious institutions. While by the "Law on the Organization of the Greek Orthodox Church", No: 590-77, "the Holy Synod of the Greek Church is determined as the primary body in selecting the Metropolitan Bishops who form the Holy Synod itself" and , by Law No: 2456/20, the Jewish Communities are given the right to select their Chief Rabbi and other Rabbis, Turkish Minority of Western Thrace cannot elect its Müfti since 1990.
Mehmet Emin Aga, the former Mufti of Xanthi, elected by the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace had been tried unfairly many times and imprisoned. The Mufti was sentenced in January 1995 by the Larisa Court of Appeals in Greece to ten months on charges of "usurping the title of Mufti" and he was then sent to Larisa Prison. Through the subsequent trials on similar charges, Mehmet Emin Aga was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment. Here, it should be underlined that the Amnesty International declared Mr.Aga as "Prisoner of Conscience" in February 24,1998.
In the same vein, on October 21, 1996, Mr. İbrahim Şerif, Mufti of Komotini elected in 1990 by members of the Turkish Minority, was convicted in Salonica "for false pretense of authority" because he had used the title of Mufti. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment but was released after appeal.
Greece doesn’t still recognize the elected Muftis of the Turkish Minority, even though the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights state that Greece violates the European Human Rights Convention in the context of religious freedom. For example, CoE Deputies Committee, in its meeting dated 6 December 2006, noted that the general measures taken by Greece to prevent new, similar violations had proved insufficient and invited the Greek authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure that Greek courts comply with the European Court’s case-law concerning freedom of religion.
As a recent development, the Greek Government, in line with the Law adopted on 8 February 2007, is prepared to give cadres to 240 Imams who will be elected by a Council composed of Greek Government representatives. The Turkish Muslim Minority Advisory Council denounced this decision in its announcement dated 12 February 2007. The decision was also condemned in the announcements of other bodies composed of Muslim religious representatives. This also proves that the Greek Government did not consult with the Minority representatives before taking such a decision.