HAGIA SOPHIA: HOW EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWS ARE BEING VIOLATED

SPYROS VLACHOPOULOS|, professor at the University of Athens Law School.H Kαθημερινή

The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque does not only offend its status as a cultural heritage site. It also violates international law. Besides the relevant UNESCO conventions for World Heritage Sites – which prohibit interventions on its listed sites that are carried out only with the approval of the relevant state – revoking the status of Hagia Sophia as a museum also clashes with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).