GREEK
HELSINKI MONITOR (GHM)
& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE (MRG-G)
P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67;
E-mail: [email protected],Web
Site: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/
GREECE: RELIGIOUS
DISCRIMINATION AND RELATED VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS
(Joint NGO Report Developed for the
OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion, Vienna 22 March 1999)
11 March 1999
[Also See: Statement
Made by the Greek Delegation in Exercise of its Right of Reply]
Introduction
The Greek constitution gives the Eastern Orthodox
Church the status of an official religion, relegating other religions to a disadvantaged
status. Constitutional amendments introduced with a first parliamentary vote in 1998 did
not affect this privileged status of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Greece formally
recognizes only one «religious» minority, the «Muslims» of Thrace, whose fundamental
rights are formally guaranteed by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. Muslims, as well as all
other religious minorities that are not officially recognized as such, have often suffered
restrictions and discrimination. Moreover, Thrace’s Muslims are denied the status of an
ethno-national Turkish minority they have continuously asked for.
In recent years, the Greek government has signed a
number of international documents providing guarantees to minorities. The ICCPR was
ratified in early 1997 while in late 1997 the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities was signed: it has yet to be sent to Parliament for ratification. So,
in March 1999, Greek human rights and minority NGOs released a public appeal for its
unconditional ratification. Moreover, GHM and MRG-G have repeatedly noticed that
government decisions to implement either improvements of minority rights or at least the
respect of international human rights norms are met with resistance by middle level state
agencies which function as a «shadow state» and often undermine government policy. Often
times, the influence and pressure of the Greek Orthodox Church leads to administrative
action which clearly violates freedom of religion. Unfortunately, the government has yet
to show the necessary political will to neutralize such resistance or sanction officials
who ignore the law and the international commitments simply to comply with the wishes of
the Orthodox Church.
International Governmental Organizations’
related criticism of Greece
In September 1996, in a judgment for an Article 9
violation by Greece of the religious freedom of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the European Court
of Human Rights (ECHR) criticized Greek legislation for «allowing far-reaching
interference by the political, administrative and ecclesiastical authorities with the
exercise of religious freedom» and for «imposing rigid or indeed prohibitive conditions
on the practice of religious beliefs by certain non-Orthodox movements,» concluding that
there is «a clear tendency on the part of the administrative and ecclesiastical
authorities to use these provisions to restrict activities of faiths outside the Orthodox
Church.»
Moreover, in November 1996, UN Special Rapporteur
Abdelfattah Amor
«notes that there are limitations on freedom of
worship which are inconsistent with internationally established human rights norms. (…)
[He] considers the constitutional provisions prohibiting proselytism to be inconsistent
with the 1981 [UN] Declaration and stresses the need for greater respect for
internationally recognized human rights norms, including freedom to convert and freedom to
manifest one’s religion or belief, either individually or in community with others, and
in public or private (…). These comments also apply to the [1938 and 1939] Necessity
Acts concerning proselytism. Removal of the legal prohibition against proselytism is very
strongly recommended. Failing this, proselytism could be defined in such a way as to leave
appropriate leeway for the exercise of religious freedom. With regard to legislation
governing places of worship, the Special Rapporteur is in favour of abolishing the
Necessity Acts and elaborating a new law which would dispense with the need to seek the
opinion of the Orthodox Church for the construction of places of worship and would confer
on the State the competence to guarantee religious freedom (…). With regard to the
legislation on identity cards, which provides for mention to be made of the holder’s
religion, the Special Rapporteur recalls the resolution of the European Parliament (see
chap. I, B, para. 30) which considered this provision, firstly, as a violation of the
fundamental freedoms of the individual, particularly freedom of opinion and religious
freedom, which are the exclusive province of the human conscience and, secondly, as a
provision that should be abolished. The Special Rapporteur fully supports this resolution.
(…) Lastly, regarding other legal issues, (…) the Special Rapporteur believes it
necessary to ensure that internal law is consistent with international law. With regard to
the revision of the Constitution, the Special Rapporteur would like to see the necessary
changes introduced in that context or set out in formal texts, with assurances that they
will be interpreted in a manner consistent with religious freedom.»
[full text available at: gopher://gopher.un.org/00/ga/docs/51/plenary/A51-542.EN1
]
No amendments to these laws, dating from the
dictatorship of the 1930s, were since introduced; the 1998 constitutional amendments did
not take into account the UN recommendations. So, Greek legislation and practice remained
quite intolerant, allowing for a heavy-handed harassment of minority religions by
authorities.
Demonization of non-religious groups
Even individuals unrelated to religious groups, like
a group of homeopath doctors (the «Diamantidis group»), may find themselves unfoundedly
characterized by recent Athens court documents as a «sect» and their leader as a
«gourou,» causing prejudicial consequences to their rights.
Or a member of a NGO, Eva Androutsopoulos, can be
tried for proselytism into Buddhism of her tutees in a German language private evening
school, though herself not a Buddhist, in a case initiated by the local bishop whom the
NGO had been critical of: she was acquitted in Komotini (Thrace) in June 1998.
Identity cards mention religion
It continues to be mandatory to mention one’s
religion in the official identity cards. Repeated negative reactions of minority religions
and NGOs have not produced any changes. As a result, cases have been reported where
citizens from religious minorities change the reference into «Orthodox Christian» in the
hope they would not be discriminated against in getting a state job.
Church and state collusion violates right of
privacy: the notorious «Radovic case»
For the past 50 days, Anastasios Radovic, a Serb
citizen, has been held in custody in Athens, waiting to be expelled from Greece. Both his
detention and expulsion order were illegal. They resulted from an unprecedented collusion
between Greek state authorities and the official Greek Church. To quote from a February
1999 answer of Foreign Minister George Papandreou to a parliamentary question of Left
Coalition Deputy Stella Alfieri, «Mr. Anastasios Radovic first entered Greece in 1991
with a Foreign Ministry Scholarship to study at the Theological School of the University
of Athens, following a request of the Patriarch of Serbia and the concurrent opinion of
the Church of Greece. In 1996, following a request of the Patriarch of Serbia, the Church
of Greece asked the Directorate of Religious and Church Affairs of the Foreign Ministry to
terminate at once the scholarship and expel him from the country, following serious
problems that surfaced during his stay in Greece. The Foreign Ministry, not having
competence on deportations, terminated the scholarship and forwarded the correspondence to
the Ministry of Public Order for further action.»
The Minister attached the 1996 very official letter
of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, requesting the termination of the scholarship
and the deportation of the student. The urgency of the request was explained by the fear
the student’s stay «could create further scandal.» Whereas it could be legitimate that
a state of law considers the recommendations of church leaders to award scholarships, it
is unacceptable that it withdraws them based on the requests of such individuals, without
prior examination of their motivation. Because, the «further scandal» was that the
student had engaged in a personal relationship with the wife of one of his professors
(also a priest). Nevertheless, in 1996, the Foreign and the Public Order Ministries,
without any legal basis, expelled the student. When he came back, in late 1998, with a
Schengen visa, the authorities arrested him and have since held him in custody for
deportation, which would prevent him from ever again entering an EU country, as he would
be «black listed» in the Schengen system. The press has reported that thanks to the new
Foreign and Public Order Ministers, as well as to the intervention of the Ombudsman, A.
Radovic may be let free. However, the last public act of the previous Minister of Public
Order, in mid-February 1999, had been an oral answer to S. Alfieri that the expulsion
order was irrevocable. Had he, and the previous Foreign Minister Theodore Pangalos, not
been replaced, A. Radovic would have probably been deported. A state of law is,
nevertheless, one where the protection of civic rights does not depend on the goodwill of
a minister or any other high official.
Established discriminatory practices against
minority religions
In recent statements, leaders of two minority
Christian Churches confirmed the general negative climate against minority religions in
Greece. «Legally, religious freedom is secure here,» Antonis Koulouris,
Secretary-General of the Greek Evangelical (Reformed) Church, told ENI [ENI (03.03.1999) /
HRWF (06.03.1999) Website http://www.hrwf.net/ ]. «But
the attitude persists that citizens have a duty to be Orthodox, and that belonging to
other denominations is unpatriotic and heretical.» Furthermore, the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Athens, Nikolaos Foscolos, told ENI that his Church had no «official
contacts» with Orthodoxy, even though its members maintained the same national traditions
and had contributed significantly to neo-Hellenic culture. Among areas of «practical
discrimination», the Archbishop listed Greece’s armed forces, where being Orthodox was
the «first requirement» for officers. «Orthodoxy is the Church of the state, so
non-Orthodox are considered incompletely Greek,» Archbishop Foscolos told ENI. «Although
the constitution guarantees citizens the same juridical status regardless of creed,
religious discrimination exists.»
Administrative harassment of minority
religions
In April 1997, the Salonica State Security reported
to the Prosecutor’s Office that 32 houses of worship in that city operated without
license. When subsequently summoned by the Prosecutor, all of them disproved the claim
providing the appropriate documents. The houses of worship concerned belonged to
Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Adventists, Mormons, Catholics, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The
Ministry of Public Order has taken no disciplinary action against the officers responsible
for that deliberately misleading report.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
In November 1998, Greece, breaking with past
practices, informed the ECHR that it had settled with a Jehovah’s Witness plaintiff, who
had been under surveillance by the Greek state in March 1993. Greece promised inter alia
that Jehovah’s Witnesses will no longer be under surveillance. The Court accepted the
settlement and struck the appeal out of the list in January 1999 (case of Tsavachidis vs.
Greece). The European Commission of Human Rights had previously granted admissibility to
the case in October 1997, for an Article 8 violation of the right to respect an
individual’s private and family life.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have moreover reported to GHM
that their members are still frequently summoned to police stations for «identity
checks.» They also repeatedly face difficulties in burying their dead in the cemeteries.
In January 1999, Panayotis Pantazis was buried in a field outside the cemetery in
Strymoniko near Serres, following the refusal of the local authorities to bury him inside
it.
Conscientious Objectors
There was certainly progress in the issue of
conscientious objection as, in 1998, the first CO’s started their alternative civilian
service (the large majority of COs are Jehovah’s Witnesses). However, its length (three
years compared to 18 months for the military service) is punitive, while, in many cases,
the CO’s are treated sometimes less favorably than even the soldiers, in violation of
the spirit and the letter of the law. On 18 January 1999, the Ombudsman’s Office
reminded one state agency where a CO is employed that «the fact that the law restricts to
two days per month the leave of absence can in no way lead to the conclusion that it
mandates his employment throughout the day in all remaining days of the month.»
«Old Calendarists»
In December 1998, a first instance court postponed
the hearing of the case of an «Old Calendarist» Genuine Orthodox Christian, Dimitris
Glinos, who was arrested in August 1998 and subsequently prosecuted for «disturbance of
religious gathering» in a church he is nevertheless the owner of. This paradox was the
result of the fact that the Municipality of Galatsi (Greater Athens area) and some
neighbors, with the help of police, had seized the church on behalf of the official «New
Calendarist» Orthodox Church, despite repeated court verdicts that their claims on it
were unfounded. By February 1999, the New Calendarists’ trespassing persisted.
Catholics
In December 1997, the ECHR convicted Greece for
having denied the legal personality of a Catholic church in Crete (Canea Catholic Church
vs. Greece).
GHM welcomes the Deputy Foreign Minister’s Yannos
Kranidiotis statement (in October 1998) to the organization that the government intends to
introduce legislation finally granting the Catholic Church of Greece a legal status
similar to those the other historical religions (Orthodox Christian, Jewish and Muslim)
have always enjoyed. Likewise for Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou’s
confirmation of the intention, during a meeting with minorities organized by GHM and MRG-G
and hosted by the Foreign Ministry, in December 1998. GHM recommends such legislation be
introduced in agreement with the Catholic Bishops’ Synod.
As in many previous years, in December 1998, five
Catholic nuns of the Mother Theresa Order faced expulsion as the authorities refused to
renew their residence permit, despite past state assurances that such thing was not going
to happen again.
Protestants
The ECHR has also condemned Greece in February 1998
for having unjustly convicted Protestants for proselytism of civilians. In the case of
Larissis and Others vs. Greece the ECHR held inter alia that there had been a violation of
Article 9 in respect of measures taken against them for proselytising civilians.
Buddhists
In November 1998, an appeals court postponed the
hearing of the case of Hara Kalomoiri, a former director of a Buddhist center for artistic
activities and meditation in Halkidiki. She had been convicted, in March 1996, to three
months in prison for lack of state issued permit for «the operation of a house of
worship,» though the center had nothing to do with a house of worship. The sentence was
lowered to two months with suspension by an Appeals Court in March 1997; in March 1998,
the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Appeals Court.
Scientologists
In December 1997, a court, with hardly convincing
evidence, violated freedom of religion by dissolving the Church of Scientology because of
business activities inappropriate for an association; because its aims were alien to the
nature and the substance of the human being as a free person; and also to the morals and
customs of the Greek people; and because it had engaged in proselytism and spying.
In December 1998, an appeals court postponed the
hearing at first instance of another case against 15 Scientologists for insult of public
figures, for, allegedly, the Church of Scientology had spied on them and informed foreign
secret services like the CIA. The Prosecution considered the case as one of «national
concern» and that Church’s aims «hostile to Greece.» A review of the indictment by
GHM indicated that the charges, as in previous cases against Scientologists, were mostly
unfounded.
Anti-Semitism
Like in most other European societies, latent
anti-Semitism is pervasive in Greece, but, unlike elsewhere, violent actions are rare.
Repeated social surveys have confirmed that attitude. The most recent was released in
January 1998 by the National Center for Social Research: it showed that 56% of the
inhabitants of Northern Greece have an aversion for Jews (and 54% for the Muslims of
Western Thrace). Even in the mainstream press, one can sometimes find uncritically
published anti-Semitic texts.
One of the two most notorious recent high profile
anti-Semitic incidents showed the lack of sufficient antiracist reflexes in Greek society.
In October 1996, the main opposition’s deputy G. Karatzaferis (New Democracy), in a
parliamentary question about then Deputy Foreign Minister Christos Rozakis, asked what
possible commitments to other countries the minister may have and why he changed his name
from Rozenstein into Rozakis without reporting that change in his CV. As the Greek Central
Jewish Council President said then, the most serious problem was the «absence of any
reaction by the deputy’s party and the Greek parliament, which seriously puzzles the
members of our community».
Prime Minister Costas Simitis, several months later
and after the Minister had resigned his post, while inaugurating the European Union’s
Year Against Racism addressing an audience of NGOs, minorities and migrants, finally used
strong words to denounce that action as well as some incidents of police violence against
Roma and of mass Albanophobia fueled by media. But the official text of that speech does
not include any of these references, probably withdrawn so as not to upset those he was
denouncing.
More recently, in February 1998, one of the
country’s most popular singer, Stelios Kazantzidis, to discredit the adverse party in
the court, used a vast array of anti-Semitic attacks, calling his adversary «agent of the
Jews,» and denouncing a «Jewish plot» and «an international Jewish conspiracy.» These
statements were repeatedly made in front of television cameras and even in the courtroom.
Subsequently they were quoted in the newspapers. There was absolutely no reaction for a
few days: no journalist, media, or intellectual criticized Kazantzidis; while, though
Greece has laws condemning incitement to racial hatred, no prosecutor nor any judge
thought of invoking them in the courtroom where the singer was committing the crime ‘in
flagrante.’ In dismay, the Central Jewish Council, which generally downplays Greeks’
anti-Semitism, issued a strong statement of protest: the media simply reproduced it
without any comments.
This absence of reactions led the country’s
foremost composer, Mikis Theodorakis, to send an equally strong letter in which he argued
that «the comeback of the zombis of racism is a disgrace for Greece,» adding that «in
such moments, silence means guilt.» With the exception of some rare and marginal voices,
nearly all Greek media, politicians and intellectuals, with their silence, confirmed their
«guilt.»
Muslims
In March 1999, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece
announced the introduction of a special monthly financial benefit, only for Christian
families in Thrace (home also of Greece’s Muslim population) who will give birth to a
third child, «to fight the area’s major demographic problem.» A few days before, the
Archbishop had made it clear that this demographic problem resulted from the supposed
larger number of children among Muslims than among Christians. This clearly discriminatory
measure drew the criticism of Muslim Turkish leaders.
In October 1998, a court in Komotini refused the
registration of the «Association of Religious Clergymen of Western Thrace Holy Mosques»
because of the name «Western Thrace» which «could be interpreted as malign and
intentional challenge of the Greekness of Thrace.» Never mind that there are other
associations including, in their title, that name which is also commonly used as a
geographical term in Greece.
The Muslims’ most serious problem is certainly that
of the choice of the muftis and of the continuous prosecution of one elected mufti. A 1990
law gave the state the right to appoint the muftis, a procedure opposed by the minority.
Currently, there are two muftis in Xanthi and and two in Komotini -one appointed and one
elected. The elected muftis have been repeatedly convicted for «pretense of authority»
for merely using the title of mufti in written statements. These convictions are a
violation of religious freedom and freedom of expression. The case of a conviction of the
elected mufti of Komotini was heard by the ECHR in January 1999.
In November 1996, UN Special Rapporteur Abdelfattah
Amor stated:
«As for the special provisions concerning Muslims
and, more particularly, muftis and waqfs, the Special Rapporteur recalls article 6,
paragraph (g), of the 1981 [UN] Declaration, which guarantees freedom to «train, appoint,
elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements and
standards of any religion or belief. The Special Rapporteur believes it necessary for the
Greek authorities to comply fully and in good faith with the Treaty of Lausanne and with
the country’s international undertakings. He also recalls the need to refrain from
interfering in the affairs of a religion (…). The Special Rapporteur also emphasizes
that the status of the Muslims of Thrace, and in particular that of the muftis and waqfs,
should not be subordinated to considerations concerning Turkey, and strongly urges the
parties involved to comply with their international undertakings, especially the Treaty of
Lausanne. (…) As far as the Muslim minority in Thrace is concerned, the Special
Rapporteur notes a static, unsatisfactory and prejudicial situation, especially in the
religious sphere. The Muslim community in Thrace is beset with serious tensions and
restrictions regarding the appointment of muftis, administration of waqfs and religious
teachers. Priority should be given to satisfying the legitimate religious needs of the
Muslims of Thrace. (…) With regard to education, the Special Rapporteur deplores the
very low level of education among the Muslim minority in Thrace and welcomes the new
legislation designed to make it easier for Muslim students to gain access to higher
education. The Special Rapporteur hopes that this targeted policy will be extended to all
levels of education including vocational training, thus ensuring that Thracian Muslims are
no longer a disadvantaged and neglected group but will have the opportunity to integrate
fully into Greek society and acquire true citizenship, thereby opening up new intellectual
and cultural horizons.»
[full text available at: gopher://gopher.un.org/00/ga/docs/51/plenary/A51-542.EN1
]
Unfortunately, Greece ignored these recommendations
and these problems of the Turkish minority have remained in 1998 as important as they were
in 1996.
The prosecution of Mehmet Emin Aga is certainly the
most outrageous recent case of violation of the human rights of an individual in Greece.
He was elected Mufti of Xanthi in August 1990, by Muslims gathered at mosques. In August
1991, the Greek government applied a new 1990 law abolishing the old 1920 one that called
for elections of muftis and appointed Emin Sinikoglu as Mufti of Xanthi. The Greek courts
have been charging Mehmet Emin Aga for violation of Article 175 (on Pretense of
Authority), Paragraph 2, of the Penal Code, solely on the basis of 33 messages he had
issued to the Muslims on religious holidays which he signed as Mufti of Xanthi between
1993-1997 (see details below). To this day, he has been convicted to over 100 months in
prison by the First Instance Courts, sentences reduced to some 70 months by the Appeals
Courts. He has spent six months in prison and has bought off the balance, at considerable
financial cost. In February 1998, Amnesty International stated that Greece was acting in
violation of international legislation which safeguards the right to freedom of expression
in sentencing Mehmet Emin Aga to terms of imprisonment solely for the peaceful exercise of
his right to freedom of expression (see complete reference below).
THE DOSSIER OF THE PROSECUTION
OF MEHMET EMIN AGA
Charges in all cases: Violation of
Article 175, paragraph 2 of the Greek Penal Code forbidding «Assuming without
justification the exercise of the function of a clergyman of (...) religion known in
Greece.»
Evidence in all cases: Signing as
Mufti religious messages to Muslims on the respective dates.
CASE 1:
Evidence: Messages released on five different Islamic
holidays on January 11, April 19, 1993 and January 3, January 19 and February 10, 1994.
First Instance Court: June 28, 1996; Single-Member Criminal Court of Agrinio.
Outcome: Guilty verdict for two cases combined in one trial. Sentenced to 20 months
in prison.
Appeals Court: April 29, 1998; Three-Member Criminal Court of Agrinio.
Outcome: Guilty verdict upheld. Sentence reduced to six months in prison. He bought
off the sentence.
Supreme Court: Case pending.
CASE 2:
Evidence: Message released on an Islamic holiday on
February 17, 1993.
First Instance Court: April 12, 1994; Three-Member Criminal Court of Xanthi.
Outcome: Guilty verdict. Sentenced to10 months in prison.
Appeals Court: January 24, 1995; Criminal Court of Larisa.
Outcome: Guilty verdict and sentence upheld. Mehmet Emin Aga spent six months in jail
and bought off the remaining four months (he was released due to serious health problems).
Supreme Court: Appeal rejected.
CASE 3:
Evidence: Messages released on eight different
Islamic holidays on March 6, April 1, May 15, August 5, August 14, November 22, December
24, 1994 and January 9, 1995.
First Instance Court: May 7, 1996; Single-Member Criminal Court of Salonica.
Outcome: Guilty verdict. Sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Appeals Court: November 5, 1998; Three-Member Criminal Court of Salonica.
Outcome: Guilty verdict upheld. Sentence reduced to eight months. He bought off the
sentence.
Supreme Court: Case pending.
CASE 4:
Evidence: Messages released on six different Islamic
holidays on August 8, May 3, November 11, November 13, December 30, 1995, and January 17,
1996.
First Instance Court: April 3, 1997; Single-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict for two cases combined in one trial. Sentenced to 20 months
in prison.
Appeals Court: February 25, 1998; Three-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict upheld. Sentence reduced to 14 months in prison. He bought
off the sentence.
Supreme Court: Case pending.
CASE 5:
Evidence: Messages released on four different Islamic
holidays on February 11, February 17, April 22 and July 25, 1996.
First Instance Court: November 6, 1997; Single-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict for three cases combined in one trial. Sentenced to 22 months
in prison.
Appeals Court: June 24, 1998; Three-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict upheld. Sentence reduced to 14 months in prison. He bought
off the sentence.
Supreme Court: Case pending.
CASE 6:
Evidence: Messages released on four different Islamic
holidays on June 28, July 25, November 8 and December 1, 1996.
First Instance Court: December 11, 1997; Single-Member Criminal Court of Lamia .
Outcome: Guilty verdict for two cases combined in one trial. Sentenced to 16 months
in prison.
Appeals Court: January 27, 1999; Three-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict upheld. Sentence reduced to 12 months in prison. He bought
off the sentence.
Supreme Court: Case pending.
CASE 7:
Evidence: Message released on an Islamic holiday on
January 7, 1997.
First Instance Court: May 28, 1998; Single-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict. Sentenced to seven months in prison.
Appeals Court: January 27, 1999; Three-Member Criminal Court of Lamia.
Outcome: Guilty verdict upheld. Sentence reduced to 5 months in prison. He bought off
the sentence.
Supreme Court: Case pending.
CASE 8:
Evidence: Messages released on two different Islamic
holidays on January 30 and December 21, 1997.
First Instance Court: March 24, 1999; Single-Member Court of Seres.
CASE 9:
Evidence: Messages released on two Islamic holidays
on April 11 and July 7, 1997.
First Instance Court: December 14, 1998; Single-Member Criminal Court of Larisa
Outcome: Guilty verdict. Sentenced to seven months in prison.
Appeals Court: Case pending.
Summary:
Prison sentences in cases 1-7: 107 months at the
First Instance level; 69 months at the Appeals level. Case 9 is pending at the Appeals
level (7 months at the First Instance level) and Case 8 at the First Instance level.
News Service 31/98
AI INDEX: EUR 25/14/98
24 February 1998
PUBLIC STATEMENT
[full text available at: http://www.amnesty.org./news/1998/42501498.htm]
Greece: Possible adoption of
Mehmet Emin Aga as prisoner of conscience
Amnesty International will adopt Mehmet Emin Aga as a
prisoner of conscience and will call for his immediate and unconditional release should he
be imprisoned after his appeal hearing on two separate convictions for «usurpation of the
function of a Minister of a known religion in Greece», the human rights organization said
in a letter to the Greek Government today.
(…)
Amnesty International takes no position on the
procedures to be followed for choosing religious leaders and has no view on who is, or who
should be, the legitimate Mufti of Xanthi. The organization’s concern in this case is
based solely on its belief that by sending leaflets with religious messages to the Muslim
inhabitants of Xanthi, which he signed as the Mufti of Xanthi, Mehmet Emin Aga was
exercising his right to freedom of expression.
This right is guaranteed by international instruments
which Greece has ratified and is therefore bound to observe. These include the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 19) and the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), Article 10
(1) of which states that: «Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right
shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas
without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.»
In sentencing Mehmet Emin Aga to terms of
imprisonment solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression,
Amnesty International considers that Greece is acting in violation of international
legislation which safeguards the right to freedom of expression.
Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group -
Greece, in anticipation of the presentation and distribution of this report to the OSCE
Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion, have submitted a
complimentary copy to the Greek Foreign Ministry on 12 March 1999.
GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR
P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece
Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67;
E-mail: [email protected],Web
Site: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
PRESENTATION
Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) was founded in late
1992, by members of Minority Rights Group - Greece (MRG-G), following the encouragement of
the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). A year later, in December
1993, the latter’s General Assembly accredited it as its Greek National Committee with
an observer status; in November 1994, the General Assembly elevated Greek Helsinki Monitor
to full membership. In April 1998, Greek Helsinki Monitor also became member of the
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).
Since 1994, GHM has worked on all national,
ethnolinguistic and major religious minority communities in Greece and in the Balkans, in
close cooperation with MRG-G. Its main work is the comprehensive monitoring of human
rights violations in general (especially human rights related trials) in Greece and, to a
lesser extent, in the Balkans. It brings them to public attention through public
statements, alone or along with other NGO’s. On the most recent crucial trial, GHM,
along with MRG-G, published, both in Greek and in English, Greece Against its Macedonian
Minority: the Rainbow Trial (ETEPE, 1998).
Occasionally, GHM lobbies with governments for the
solution of such problems. It has also participated and often coordinated the monitoring
of Greek and Balkan media for stereotypes and hate speech. Its major related publication,
along with the IHF, is «Hate Speech» in the Balkans (ETEPE, 1998).
In 1997, GHM in cooperation with MRG-G and the
European Roma Rights Center started a Roma Office. The three NGOs have jointly made, in
May 1998, a fact-finding mission to some 40 Roma settlements in Greece. That office has
also followed cases of police violence against Roma, including offering the victims legal
advice and continuous support.
In 1998, GHM along with MRG-G, the Institute on South
East Europe (ISEE) of the Central European University and the Center of Documentation and
Information on Minorities in Europe (CEDIME) based in Montpellier (France) launched a
Balkan-wide project to create a web site to cover human rights issues in the region and
include comprehensive and comparable presentations of all minorities in the region.
All the reports mentioned here, the statements
(co-)issued by GHM, as well as the articles and books published by its members can be
found in the web site ÓöÜëìá! Äåí Ý÷åé ïñéóôåß
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MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE
P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece
Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67;
E-mail: [email protected],Web
Site: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
PRESENTATION
Minority Rights Group - Greece was created as the
Greek affiliate of Minority Rights Group International in January 1992. The members’
broad human rights concerns led them to also create Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) in late
1992, which became member of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
The first major campaign of MRG-G was to alert
international public opinion on the considerable number of trials of dissident
intellectuals and human or minority rights activists for their opposition to the official
Greek policy towards Macedonia and the Macedonian minority in Greece, which took place in
1992-1993. On a related, most recent trial, MRG-G, along with GHM, published, both in
Greek and in English, Greece Against its Macedonian Minority: the Rainbow Trial (ETEPE,
1998).
MRG-G focused mostly on the studies of minorities, in
Greece and in the Balkans. Its first project aimed at preparing detailed reports on all
national, ethnolinguistic and major religious minority communities in Greece (Macedonians
and Turks; Arvanites, Pomaks, and Vlachs; Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Protestants,
and New Religious Movements), as well as the Greek minorities in Albania and Turkey, and
the Albanian immigrants in Greece.
In 1997, MRG-G along with GHM in cooperation with the
European Roma Rights Center started a Roma Office which has issued reports on both the
problems of the Roma and their coverage by the major Greek print media. The three NGOs
have jointly made, in May 1998, a fact-finding mission to some 40 Roma settlements in
Greece and are preparing the first ever comprehensive report on the situation of the
country’s major minority (estimated population 350,000). That office has also followed
cases of police violence against Roma, including offering the victims legal advice and
continuous support.
In 1998, MRG-G along with GHM, the Institute on South
East Europe (ISEE) of the Central European University and the Center of Documentation and
Information on Minorities in Europe (CEDIME) based in Montpellier (France) launched a
Balkan-wide project to create a web site to cover human rights issues in the region and
include comprehensive and comparable presentations of all minorities in the region.
All the reports mentioned here, the statements
(co-)issued by MRG-G, as well as the articles and books published by its members can be
found in the web site http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/