EU court rules against Greece over Turkish association dispute
STRASBOURG
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Greece violated the right to freedom of association by refusing to register a women’s organization that sought to include the term “Turkish” in its name.
The case began in December 2010, when seven Greek women from Xanthi applied to register an organization with the name “Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Xanthi.”
While the association’s charter limited membership to adult women of Greek nationality residing in Xanthi, it explicitly identified its members as “Turkish” women rather than just Muslims of Greek nationality and citizenship. This ethnic self-identification was central to the dispute.
Xanthi is located in the region of Western Thrace in northeastern Greece, near the border with Türkiye and the Aegean Sea.
According to the latest figures, the Turkish minority in Xanthi constitutes approximately 35 percent of the total population, amounting to around 40,000 people. This community, officially recognized under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, remains a significant cultural and social presence in the region.
Greek courts rejected the application, arguing that the association’s name was misleading and could create confusion about its members’ identity.
The courts also distinguished between the officially recognized Muslim minority under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and a “Turkish minority,” which they do not officially acknowledge.
The applicants’ appeals were dismissed by the Thrace Court of Appeal in 2014 and the Greek Court of Cassation in 2017.
In July 2018, the applicants brought the case to the ECHR.
The court ruled that the refusal to register the association was an unjustified interference with the applicants’ right to freedom of association under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The court emphasized that using the term “Turkish” in the association’s name does not pose a problem in a democratic society and does not threaten public order.
It ruled that the rejection of the association’s name was an unlawful interference with freedom of expression and the right to freedom of association.
The court also stressed that pluralism and free self-identification are essential to a democratic society and that no threat to public order existed from the association’s name.
Greece was ordered to pay each applicant 3,000 euros ($3,400) in nonpecuniary damages and 4,677 euros jointly for legal costs. The court also suggested that Greece should reopen the registration proceedings if requested.
