French Citizen Detained For Breaking A Copy Of The Al Quran In Greece

ILLUSTRATION/UNSPLASH/Larry Farr

JAKARTA - A French citizen tore a copy of the Koran at a mosque in West Trakia, Greece, said Turkey's local minority representative in the region on Thursday (15/6).

Based on reports from local residents who witnessed the provocative action in Ilica Kaplicalar village (Ano Thermai) in Iskece Province (Xanthi), the French national was detained by the local Greek police team.

Reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Friday, June 16, the perpetrator was finally taken to the police station, according to the mufti office elected at Iskece in a statement.

The provocative action was strongly criticized by a number of well-known figures from the Turkish minority and associations as well as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Religion of Greece.

Secretary-general of the ministry regarding Giorgos Kalantzis said in a statement: "For Greece, respecting places of worship of all religious communities is a value that cannot be negotiated."

Most of Turkey's ethnic minority in Greece, about 150,000 people, lives in West Trakia, which is northern borders Bulgaria, in the east bordering Turkey, in the south with the Aegean Sea and in the west with the Greek Macedonia region.