Sotiris Bletsas ( el, Σωτήρης Μπλέτσας) is an architect and

Aromanian language The Aromanian language (, , , or ), also known as Macedo-Romanian or Vlach, is an Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance language, similar to Megleno-Romanian language, Megleno-Romanian, Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian and Romania ...

activist from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. In 1995, at an Aromanian festival in Greece, he distributed some

European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL) was a non-governmental organisation that was set up to promote linguistic diversity and languages. It was founded in 1982 and discontinued in 2010. The organisation had close ties with both the E ...

(EBLUL) material about minority languages in Greece.A protest of the Trã Armãnami Association of the Aromanians of France outlining the details of Bletsas' arrest and conviction (in French

In 2001, on an initiative of the Hellenic Parliament, MP for

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

Evgenios Haïtidis, he was charged with "dissemination of false information" (contrary to article 191 of the Greek Penal Code) who reportedly was supported by the leadership of the

Panhellenic Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs The Panhellenic Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs ( el, Πανελλήνια Ομοσπονδία Πολιτιστικών Συλλόγων Βλάχων, Panellínia Énosi Politistikón Syllógon Vlachón Elládos) is an organizatio ...

. The case drew protest from the

Greek Helsinki Monitor Greek Helsinki Monitor is a human rights organization in Greece, founded as part of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. In 2021, GHM was one of a group of organizations that sued Frontex at the European Court of Justice over its ...

and from abroad. He was first found guilty and sentenced to fifteen months in jail, suspended for three years, and fined 500,000

drachmas The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...

, however, he successfully appealed the decision and was subsequently found not guilty on 18 October 2001. Bletsas has held the position of director in the Greek branch of the EBLUL, established in January 2002, being among the several Aromanians to have done so.

References

Living people Greek people of Aromanian descent Aromanian nationalists Greek activists Language activists Minority rights activists Year of birth missing (living people) {{Activist-stub

See also

References