On September 21, 2026, the Supreme Court (Court of Cassation of Greece) is considering two appeals from seven individuals against the dissolution of the association called “Macedonian Language Center in Greece” based in Lerin/Florina, Greece, which aims to legally preserve and nurture the Macedonian language as an autochthonous language in Greece.
These seven individuals were members of the board of directors of the association, which was judicially recognized. Following the judicial recognition of the association, two lawsuits were filed against its recognition, the first by the public prosecutor of Lerin/Florina and the association “Pan-Macedonian Union of the Macedonian Struggle of Greece – Australia”, where other persons (natural and legal) also intervened, and the second by the public prosecutor of Lerin/Florina and the association “Panhellenic Association of Descendants of the Macedonian Fighters Pavlos Melas”.
In these trials, two equally historic decisions on fundamental rights were made, granting the “Center for the Macedonian Language in Greece” the right, and on the basis of them, the “Center…” continued to exist legally. However, the opponents of the “Center…” filed two appeals against those two historic decisions, which were accepted by the Appellate Court, which adopted the opponents’ positions regarding the creation of confusion about the association’s objectives and the threat to public order in Greece, and with two decisions, the Appellate Court ordered the dissolution of the association.
The two trials against the two decisions of the Court of Appeal will be held on September 21, 2026 at the Court of Cassation of Greece. In the event that the Court of Cassation issues two negative decisions, similarly to the Appellate Court, the “Center for the Macedonian Language in Greece” will file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where so far minority rights associations in Greece have always obtained justice. However, a necessary condition for the ECHR is to first exhaust the levels of jurisdiction in Greece, i.e. for both trials to be resolved at the Court of Cassation of Greece.
For the costs of the two trials in the Court of Cassation of Greece (court costs, taxes, legal fees) an amount of EUR 10,000.00 (ten thousand euros) must be raised by September 15, 2026.
The “Macedonian Language Center in Greece” appeals for financial support of any monetary amount in order to cover the amount of 10,000.00 euros, to any person and collective interested in supporting the crucial legal fight for fundamental rights in Greece.
You can donate through the Macedonian International Human Rights Movement, whose invaluable support allows us to continue our work.
Donate at https://mhrmi.org/donations or contact the Macedonian International Human Rights Movement for other ways to donate: 1-416-850-7125, info@mhrmi.org, mhrmi.org, x.com/mhrmi, facebook.com/mhrmi, instagram.com/MacedonianHumanRights
