KOMOTINI, Greece

Three people were arrested in northeastern Greece for building a Muslim prayer room, according to a local Muslim official.

Ilyaz Gundogan Ahmetoglu, the imam of the Drosero (Serin Mahalle) neighborhood in the city of Xanthi, was arrested last week along with two other people, Ahmet Hraloglu, a local Muslim cleric, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

Xanthi is part of Greece’s Western Thrace region, which has a population of some 150,000 Muslim Turks dating back centuries.

Hraloglu said the three were arrested while trying to add a small section to a prefabricated structure to be used as a prayer room.

He added that the prefab structure was meant to house the neighborhood's culture association.

Hraloglu said the arrests were made for unauthorized construction.

The arrestees were released by a court on condition that the group's administrators get the necessary construction permits and documents within a month.

Hraloglu said the court warned that if work continues without authorization, they could face a fine of up to €50,000.

He added that Drosero lacks a proper mosque, forcing local Muslims to do their obligatory prayers at makeshift sites.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet.