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Turkish police close Iskenderun Protestant Church
Congregation's activities accused of ? offending society ?
by Barbara G. Baker
Compass Direct (09.07.2002)/ HRWF International Secretariat (10.07.2002) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - E-mail info@hrwf.net - Turkish security police ordered a Protestant Christian congregation meeting for 40 years in the southeastern port city of Iskenderun to close its doors in mid June, declaring the church had "no legal basis" and that its activities were harmful to society.
Pastor Yusuf Yasmin, 71, was served official notice by the security police of Hatay province to close and stop all activities of the New Testament Church in Iskenderun.
The abrupt two-page order was dated and delivered on June 14 to Yasmin, who was ordered to remove the church sign and list of worship services from the building by 5:00 p.m. the same day.
According to a copy of the directive obtained by Compass, the church was ordered to close "because your activities will incite religious, sectarian and dervish-order discrimination; will harm religious and national feelings; and will create offense in the society.
Signed by District Security Director Salih Gokalp, the order declared that the church's location had not been approved in the municipal zoning plan and that no religious or other private education of any kind could be allowed on the premises without the express permission of the Ministry of Education.
The church has met in its current location for the past seven years without previous complaints from the Turkish authorities.
Yasmin and the majority of his congregation, averaging 80 to 90 worshippers at Sunday services, are Turkish citizens from a variety of ethnic Christian backgrounds. The Protestant church has met for worship in the city since 1963, although after its original place of worship was torn down in 1970, the congregation met in the church facilities of the local Armenian Orthodox Church for 25 years.
In 1995, the congregation purchased and moved into its own church facility in Iskendurun's Piri Reis district, notifying local authorities on June 26, 1995, of the location and set times of worship, Bible studies and religious seminars.
In compliance with local zoning regulations, Yasmin informed all the other owners of residences and shops in the building that his church had purchased Flat C to be used as a place of Christian worship. "None of them had any problem with this, and all of them signed the notarized forms giving their consent," Yasmin said.
In an indirect admission, the police order acknowledges that "there is no provision in our laws concerning the construction and use of 'places of worship.'" But it goes on to insist that "it is not possible for places of worship to be built in random places" under the country's zoning laws.
"We are not enemies of the state," a bewildered Yasmin said today by telephone from Iskenderun. "We love our nation. So why are they doing this to us?" After pastoring and preaching for 43 years, Yasmin admitted he had found it very difficult to be forbidden to worship with his congregation for the past month.
A lawyer retained by the New Testament Church confirmed today that he is preparing to file a case later this week before the administrative courts on behalf of the Iskenderun Protestants to regain their constitutional rights to freedom of worship and religious activities.
Iskenderun is located just 25 miles from Antakya (ancient Antioch), where the New Testament says Christ's followers were first called Christians. With a population of 160,000 population, Iskenderun still bears the name of its 4th century B.C. founder, Alexander the Great.
Threatened or destroyed churches and monasteries in the Tur Abdin
HRWF International Secretariat (04.07.2002) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - E-mail info@hrwf.net According to the Assyrian-Chaledean-Syriac Association, which has listed dozens of destroyed and threatened churches and monasteries in the Tur Abdin, the Turkish state denies permission for the necessary reparations and renovations. Below is the list of those buildings that was sent to members of the U.S. Congress.(*)
Locality/ Name of church/ Built in year/ Measure Taken
Mardin-district
Eskakile (Kilitmara)/ Mor Ozozel Monastery/ 400/ Closed
Eskakile (Kilitmara)/ St Maria Monastery/ 326/ Closed
Eskakile (Kilitmara)/ Mor Jacob Monastery/ 200/ Closed
Gollu (Golliye)/ Mor Theodore Church/ 500/ Closed
Savour-district
Dereici (Kilit)/ Mor Abay Monastery/ 370/ Closed
Dereici (Kilit)/ Mor Teodutu Monastery/ 697/ Closed
Midyat-district
Gungoren (Keferbi)/ Mor Stephanos Church/ 600/ Closed
Elbegendi (Kafro tahtito)/ Mor Jacob Church/ 600/ Closed
Midyat, central Meryem Ana Church 1800/ Closed
Anitli (Hah)/ Mor Sabo Church 700/ Remade to a mosque
Izbirak (Zaz)/ Mor Dimet Church/ 700/ Closed
Izbirak (Zaz)/ Meryem Ana Church/ Closed
Baglarbasi (Urdunus)/ Mor Kuruyakos Church/ 600/ Closed
Narli (Ahlah)/ Mor Semun Church/ 700/ Remade to a mosque
Bardakci (Bote)/ Mor Aphrem Church/ 400/ Remade to a barn
Bardakci (Bote)/ Meryem Ana Church/ Remade to a mosque
Mercimekli (Habsos)/ Mor Loozos Monastery/ 800/ Closed
Karagol (Derkup)/ Mor Jacob Church/ 500/ Destruction on-going
Nusaybin-district
Nusaybin,/ central Mor Jacob Church/ 300/ Closed
Gunyurdu (Marbobo)/ Mor Bobi Church/ 400/ Closed
Gunyurdu (Marbobo)/ Mor Aho Church/ Closed
Gimeli (Gremira)/ Mor Evgin Monastery/ 400/ Closed
Dibek (Badibe)/ Mor Johannes Monastery/ 500/ Closed
Dibek (Badibe)/ Mor Abraham Monastery/ 400/ Closed
Dibek (Badibe)/ Mor Jacob Monastery/ 600/ Closed
Dibek (Badibe)/ Meryem Ana Church/ Closed
Taskoy (Arbo)/ Mor Salito Church/ 500/ Closed
Taskoy (Arbo)/ Meryem Ana Church/ 800/ Closed
Taskoy (Arbo)/ Mor Dimet Church/ 700/ Closed
Guzelsu (Ihvo)/ Mor Sarkis-Bakis Church/ 600/ Closed
Guzelsu (Ihvo)/ Meryem Ana Church/ 500/ Closed
Guzelsu (Ihvo)/ Mor Ellyo Monastery/ 700/ Closed
Dagici (Harabemiska)/ Mor Yoreth Monastery/ 400/ Closed
Dagici (Harabemiska)/ Mor Aho Church/ Closed
Ucyol (Sederi)/ Meryem Ana Church/ Closed
Kerboran-district
Arbaye Mor Sabo Church/ 600/ Destroyed
Arbaye Mor Gevargis Church/ Closed
Dargecit/ central Meryem Ana Church/ Closed
Dargecit/ central Mor Kuruyakos Church/ Closed
Dargecit/ central Bethil Church/ Closed
Dargecit/ central Syriac Catholic Church/ Closed
Idil-district (Azag)
Sarikoy (Sare)/ Mor Malke Church/ 1800/ Whole village confiscated
Yarbasi (Esfes)/ Mor Dodo Church/ 700/ Closed
Cizre-district (Gziro)
Yukari Dera/ Mor Aho Church/ 400/ Closed
Asagi Dera/ Mor Johannes Church/ 400/ Closed
Silopi-district
Kosrali (Hassana)/ Bethil Church/ 1800/ Whole village confiscated
Kosrali (Hassana)/ Meryem Ana Church/ see above
Kosrali (Hassana)/ Mor Muse Church/ 700/ see above
Kosrali (Hassana)/ Mor Ismuni Church/ 1800/ see above
Aksu (Harbol)/ Mor Ismuni Church/ 600/ Closed
Diyarbakir-district
Diyarbakir/ central Mor Petyun Church/ 500/ Closed
Diyarbakir/ central Meryem Ana Church/ 300/ Closed, churchyard remade into a parking lot
Gercus-district
Yamaniar (Yardo)/ Mor Aho Church/ Closed
Anca (Kafro elayto)/ Mor Jacob Church/ 600/ Closed
Anca (Kafro elayto)/ Mor Aho-Dimet Church/ 700/ Destroyed
Hasankeye-district
Difne/ Mor Aho Monastery/ 500/ Destroyed
Biseri Zercel (Dera Kira)/ Mor Kuruyakos Monastery/ 500/ Destroyed
Kurtulan-district
Ain Kasre/ Mor Aho Monastery/ 700/ Closed
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Turkish Protestant acquitted from charges of insulting Islam
Middle East Concern (27.06.2002)/ HRWF International Secretariat (02.07.2002) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - E-mail info@hrwf.net - On June 26 Mr. Kemal Timur, an active member of the small Turkish Protestant church in Diyarbakir, Turkey, was acquitted by the Fourth Criminal Court for charges of insulting Islam and Muhammed.
Timur had been involved in New Testament distribution in Diyarbakir, the main city in southeast Turkey, for four or five months in early 2000. During that time, police questioned him about eight times, but nothing was pursued because his actions were not illegal.
However, on May 1, 2000 Timur was arrested one again, and this time the police brought forward a complainant with trumped-up charges that Timur had insulted Islam and Muhammed. In December 2000 he learned that a case had been opened against him five months previously. Furthermore, at that time he discovered that there were now three complainants, two of whom he had never seen or spoken to before.
Timurs first hearing was on January 30, 2001 at the Criminal Court in Diyarbakir. The case had been filed against him under Article 175 of the Turkish penal code, which prohibits the slander of God, the prophets, the holy books or an individual believer. If found guilty he could face up to a jail sentence of six months to one year.
None of the complainants turned up at the January hearing, so the hearing was postponed to March 27, 2001. Mr. Timur was able to present his defense and stated he had not in any way insulted or even referred to Islam or its prophet. He stated that it was contrary to his beliefs to show disrespect for someone else's beliefs, adding that when he distributes New Testaments, he never discusses his Christian faith with people. If people want to talk about it, he agrees to meet with them at another time.
At the March hearing two of the three complainants showed up. One said Mr. Timur had not made any derogative remarks about Muhammad. The second complainant "nervously" (according to Mr. Timur's lawyer) claimed that Timur did say the things he is accused of saying. The third complainant was absent. The judge set the next hearing for May 31, 2001.
The judge was not present for the May hearing, so it was postponed again to July 17, 2001.
For the court hearing on July 17, neither Mr. Timur nor his lawyer went to court. Because it was summer recess time in the courts, they knew that the judge wouldn't be there and the hearing would be postponed again. The next hearing was set for October 4, 2001, and at this time a new judge was assigned to the case as well.
At the October 4 hearing, the State Prosecutor suddenly called new witnesses, all of them policemen involved in Mr. Timur's arrest on May 2000. However, despite a court summons to testify in the case, they failed to appear before court at the October 4 hearing. Therefore the judge decided to postpone the case until February 5, 2002.
At the February 5th hearing, the police officers who had been summoned to testify against Mr. Timur failed to appear before the court for a second time. Police headquarters informed the court that the policemen could not attend the hearings in person because they had been transferred to other cities
The judge then ordered that the absent policemen had to testify to a court in the cities they had been transferred to and that their statements be forwarded to him before the next hearing. He then decided on June 26, 2002 as the date for the next hearing.
The judge did not receive the policemen's statements before the June 26 hearing and he agreed with the reasoning of Mr. Timur's lawyer that the statements were not necessary, as they were in the original police report of the arrest. The judge decided to drop all charges against Mr. Timur.
Turkish prosecutor charges religious sect followers with membership in an illegal group
AP (05.06.2002)/HRWF International Secretariat (06.06.2002) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - E-mail info@hrwf.net - A Turkish prosecutor on Wednesday charged twelve followers of a tiny Muslim sect who were apparently trying to recruit followers in Turkey with membership in an illegal group.
The twelve were detained in Istanbul in April during a police crackdown on the followers of the Kadiyani sect. A thirteenth person who was also arrested in April was charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting an illegal organization.
The group follows the teachings of Mirza Gulam Ahmed-El Kadiyani, who lived in India between 1835 and 1908, and is considered heretical by many mainstream Muslims because members regard Kadiyani as a prophet.
A prosecutor charged the twelve with membership in an illegal organization. They face up to five years in prison if convicted. No trial date has been set.
The prosecutor's indictment, obtained by the semi-official Anatolia news agency, said the group was engaged in "a disciplined and programmed task to establish itself in Turkey."
Anatolia said police detained the thirteen after a former follower complained he was being threatened for trying to leave the group.
There was no other evidence that the group preached or was engaged in any acts of violence.
Predominantly Muslim Turkey has strict secular laws and authorities have been cracking down on radical Islamic groups who advocate replacing the secular system with an Islamic regime.
The group is largely unknown in Turkey and it is not clear how many followers it may have had.
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Muslim Turkey moves toward recognizing religious equality for women
AP (19.05.2002)/HRWF International Secretariat (22.05.2002) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - E-mail info@hrwf.net - Turkey's Muslim clergymen have agreed to let women attend funerals and prayers alongside men, as well attend mosque during their menstrual periods practices that have been forbidden them until now, reports said Sunday.
However, Turkey's top clergyman, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, said the decisions, taken at a meeting on Saturday, were not binding on the public and that the believers were free to chose to follow them or not, daily Hurriyet reported.
Yilmaz explained that the decisions were binding for the clergymen to guide the faithful whenever they are asked to comment on those controversial topics.
The declaration by the High Religious Affairs Board said there can be no discrimination between sexes and that women and men were "equal and complementary beings." The state-run board is Turkey's highest religious advisory body and oversees more than 70,000 mosques in Turkey.
The decisions are expected to heat up a public debate over the place of women in religious services. Some women were recently scolded by imams, or Muslim clergymen, for attempting to attend funeral prayers while some other clergymen have allowed women to take part in the service.
Women have been demanding equal religious rights with men, leading many to question the role of women not only in religion but in daily life in this pre-dominantly Muslim but secular country which is aspiring for European Union membership.
The rulings said women were free to enter mosques and read from the Koran, Islam's holy book, during their menstrual periods.
Yasar Nuri Ozturk, one of Turkey's most popular theologians, said women until now were considered "unclean," during their menstrual period but the decision has ended that prejudice and discrimination.
"This is a revolution," Ozturk told the Anatolia news agency.
In September, the Board decided to take up more controversial questions such as whether Muslim women can marry non-Muslim men.
Nearly all Turks are Muslims. Now, both Muslim men and women can marry non-Muslims, but radical Muslims have been seeking to ban Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men.
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Turkish pastor put on trial in Diayarbakir
Church construction halted since November
by Barbara G. Baker
Compass (07.05.2002)/ HRWF (08.05.2002) Email info@hrwf.net - Website http://www.hrwf.net -- Protestant pastor Ahmet Guvener goes on trial in Turkey's southeastern city of Diyarbakir in late May, accused by the state prosecutor of making illegal changes in the architectural plan of his nearly completed church building.
If found guilty of the charges filed before the Diyarbakir Criminal Court, the Turkish pastor could be sentenced to two to five years in jail. The first hearing in the case is set for May 28.
Meanwhile, Guvener and his small congregation are shut out of their new building, which was only a month from completion when Turkish authorities intervened to stop the construction last November. The premises have been locked and sealed for the past six months.
Architectural plans for the three-story building had been approved in February 2001 by both the municipality and the Ministry of Culture. Registered in the pastor's name of Guvener, as he owns the property, the building includes living accommodations for the pastor and his family, as well as a modest sanctuary on the main floor. But on November 26, the pastor received abrupt orders to halt construction.
Initially, Guvener was told by representatives of the Diyarbakir Council for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Riches that the style of windows installed in the building were not in conformity to those required in Diyarbakir's protected "old town" where the building is located.
Then he was informed that an archeologist and architect from the council had concluded during an October 23 visit to the site that his plan was "not proper" and "to a great extent blocked the view" of the ancient Syrian Orthodox church just across the street, thus violating the zoning requirements for protected historical sites.
However, the underlying objection voiced to the council by the governor of Diyarbakir was over the building's intended use for worship by Turkish Christians.
According to a Diyarbakir city official who requested anonymity, the story was spread through the Turkish media that Guvener had applied for permission to build a home for himself, while secretly planning to turn it into a church.
"It wasn't until after the 'Ceviz Kabugu' talk shows on TV last November raised public debate about Christian missionary activities in Turkey and articles appeared in the weekly Aydinlik magazine against this particular church that a problem was raised about this," the official admitted.
Both Guvener and his architect told Compass they had clear-cut evidence that they had never disguised the purpose of the building.
"Before the city engineers approved the architectural plan," Guvener said, "they asked us to remove the last row of pews in the sanctuary, to prevent a fire hazard, because it was to be used as a public place." The plans also included a baptismal pool and pulpit, both clearly marked on the drawings.
"Our consciences are very clear," the church's architect confirmed. "Not from a technical standpoint nor in any other way did we ever try to deceive the city authorities about this building." Although a few small changes had become necessary during the building's construction, Guvener said, he had later submitted these to the authorities and received retroactive approval.
Over the past few months, the Ministry of Culture's Diyarbakir Council has tried to dictate major changes in the architectural plan before allowing the construction to resume. Guvener has been told to remove the kitchen and one of the two restrooms from the plan, and also to construct a wall on the main floor that would split the sanctuary into two smaller rooms.
Turkish authorities have defended the halted church construction as simply an administrative order to enforce legal building codes and zoning regulations. In response to an inquiry from a member of the Swedish Parliament, Turkish Ambassador Selim Kuneralp claimed that Guvener's "attempt to build [a church] without authorization in a protected part of the city has been prevented."
The January 8 letter stated that building permission had been "withdrawn" because "the construction did not conform to the original project" and also cited its proximity to the Syrian Orthodox community's Virgin Mary Church. The new Protestant church is located in a traditionally Christian district of Diyarbakir, just across a narrow street from the city's ancient Syrian Orthodox church complex in the Sur municipality's Lalebey neighborhood.
"So where is our congregation supposed to worship?" asked Guvener, noting that they now number around 40 Turks, including families with children. Married with four children, Guvener, 37, converted to Christianity 11 years ago.
"Maybe the Turkish state, or someone in it, feels there is a genuine danger of massive turnings to the Christian faith," commented one observer close to the situation. "Otherwise, why are they making such a hullabaloo about it? It's hard to believe that reasonable people are concerned, except as a political ploy."
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Iranian Christian family faces quandry in Turkey
Canadian Embassy Refuses Immigration Status
By Barbara Baker
Compass Direct (02.05.2002)/ HRWF (03.05.2002) Email info@hrwf.net - Website http://www.hrwf.net - The Canadian Embassy in Ankara turned down an Iranian Christian family's immigration application last week, closing the last known option for religious asylum for former Muslims Mahmoud and Atefeh Erfani and their three daughters.
After nearly three years as refugees in central Turkey, the Erfani family faces eventual deportation by Turkish authorities back to Iran, where Muslims who convert to Christianity can be executed for apostasy.
The Canadian government's refusal came nine months after its embassy in Turkey pledged in writing to examine the family's application for immigration. The August 6 document had specified that the family could be processed to leave for Canada within eight months "if all our requirements are met." At that point, three previous applications filed for U.N. refugee status had all been denied.
After waiting more than nine months for their first immigration interview with Canadian authorities, the Erfani family was summoned to Ankara for an April 18 interview.
Erfani told Compass by telephone from Nevsehir that his formal appointment at the Canadian Embassy consisted of a one-hour interview. "They did not speak with my wife or daughters," he said, "and they did not give us any medical or other tests."
Erfani's wife, whose health is deteriorating from advancing multiple sclerosis diagnosed eight years ago, is now in a wheelchair. But with considerable effort, she was able to accompany her husband and daughters to Ankara by bus from Nevsehir, where the family has been temporarily settled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since their arrival in Turkey.
Just five days later, the Canadian Embassy issued a letter declaring that based on "a careful consideration" of his April 18 interview, Erfani did "not satisfy the definition of Convention refugee nor member of the country of asylum class."
"Consequently, I have refused your application for permanent residence in Canada," Canadian Embassy Visa Officer Umit Ozguz wrote in the April 23 letter, which Erfani received on April 26.
The embassy letter gave no specific reason for the refusal. Church sources in Canada, however, said they believed Mrs. Erfani's health problems were most likely the determining factor.
According to definitions cited in the refusal letter, a "Convention refugee" is any person who "by reason of well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group or political opinion" has left his country and "by reason of that fear, is unwilling to return to that country."
In the second category, the "asylum class" was defined under Canadian policy as someone who "has been and continues to be seriously and personally affected by a massive violation of human rights" with "no possibility, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution."
Although converted and baptized 21 years ago, Erfani and his wife had faced deepening hostility and harassment from police authorities in Mashhad during their last 12 months in Iran, which finally frightened them into fleeing the country.
Known as a center of Shiite fanaticism, Mashhad authorities executed a convert Christian pastor for apostasy in 1990. Then the city's two Protestant churches were forced to close, and three convert Christian couples were arrested, threatened, and formally charged with apostasy. All three families managed to escape from Iran and obtain religious asylum in Europe and North America.
In the meantime, the convert pastor in Tehran who baptized the Erfanis, as well as the local Presbyterian elder who first brought Erfani to local church services, were granted religious asylum in Europe.
Although Erfani himself was subjected to a series of terrifying abductions by local secret police during the last half of 1998, he had no documents to "prove" officially that he was being persecuted for his faith by the Iranian government. After his family was forcibly evicted from their home on the former Presbyterian church compound in March 1999, he moved them to Tehran.
But a few weeks later, when Erfani learned other Christian believers were being arrested and questioned about his own whereabouts, he secretly packed up his family and fled across the Turkish border.
Erfani confirmed this week that Turkish police authorities in Nevsehir have consistently treated him well. In consideration of his wife's poor health, he said, they have only required him to report once a week to sign in at police headquarters. Although he said they had not been able to afford many of her needed medications, they have scraped by on what a Presbyterian church source called "meager monthly support" from abroad.
In February 2001, after the Erfanis were refused UNHCR refugee status for the second time, the Turkish Interior Ministry had issued an order for their deportation. Although the notice was temporarily stayed by the Canadian Embassy's letter last August, the family's Turkish residence permits expired on March 28.
Erfani said he had turned the permits over to the Nevsehir police authorities the day they expired, along with the Canadian Embassy's August letter.
"I have nothing in my hands now," Erfani said. "I am afraid that we could be sent back to Iran," he admitted.
"Just pray that God's will be done for our family," Erfani asked, "and that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit, to bear all these problems with God's peace."
According to a representative of an Anglican church in Toronto which pledged full sponsorship for the stranded family, the Erfani family's case is now closed with Canadian immigration. Even "if there is new evidence presented," the representative told Compass, "there is no way to reopen the case."
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Turkish radio station suspended for propagating Christianity
AFP (26.03.2002) / HRWF International Secretariat (28.03.2002) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - Turkish authorities have for the first time suspended a private radio station for propagating Christianity in this predominantly Muslim country, the broadcaster said today.
The state broadcasting watchdog RTUK suspended the broadcasts of Shema radio, the first Christian radio station in Ankara, for 31 days, effective March 21, station director Ismail Serinken told AFP.
One day of the suspension was imposed for propagating Christianity, and the other 30 days of closure were ordered for "separatists broadcasts" made by a Muslim radio which occupied the same frequency previously.
Authorities said Shema radio had engaged in missionary activities and violated Turkish laws, a charge Serinken denied. He strongly criticised the decision, which he said was the result of "intolerance and prejudice" in Turkey, which is striving to improve its human rights record in order to gain entry to the European Union.
"It's not the suspension for a month that we regret but that for the one (additional) day, because all we did was spread the message of Christ," Serinken said.
The station is financially dependent on the Protestant Kurtulus church, which counts some 500 mostly Turkish members and has been active in Ankara since the early 1980s.
Since it was formed in 1994, the controversial RTUK has temporarily suspended the broadcasts of some 500 radio and television stations, in particular Islamic and Kurdish stations, official figures show.
Turkish authorities are opposed to granting self-rule to Kurdish separatists, who have been waging a campaign for autonomy in Turkey's southeast for 15 years.
While around 99 per cent Muslim, Turkey is officially a secular country.
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Alleged slander case stalled in eastern Turkey
International Observers Attend Turkish Christian's Trial
by Barbara G. Baker
Compass Direct - www.compassdirect.org (6.02.2002) / HRWF (07.02.2002) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - More than a dozen observers attended the sixth hearing of criminal charges against Turkish Christian Kemal Timur yesterday in Diyarbakir's 4th Criminal Court.
Timur, 33, is accused of insulting Islam while distributing New Testaments nearly two years ago. After repeated delays since his trial hearings began in January 2001, the court in southeastern Turkey's regional capital postponed Timur's case again yesterday, this time for another 20 weeks.
Minutes after four international observers, including representatives of a German human rights group and a foreign journalist, arrived at the Diyarbakir courthouse for Timur's Tuesday morning hearing, a local contingent of secret police showed up to monitor the trial proceedings. A handful of Turkish Christians also crowded onto the single, long bench provided along one wall of the courtroom, behind the defendant.
The presiding judge, who commented on the court record that a group of observers were present for the hearing, forbade the use of any cameras inside the courtroom.
For the second time, police officers who had been summoned to testify against Timur failed to appear before the court. Police headquarters informed the court that the two officers' transfer to posts in other cities made it impossible for them to attend in person.
Both policemen had been involved in Timur's arrest on May 1, 2000, in front of a Diyarbakir school, where he was distributing New Testaments along a public sidewalk. Timur, whose distribution activities were completely legal under Turkish law, was released the following day without any charges filed against him.
But seven months later, he was notified that he was being charged under Article 175 of the Turkish penal code for having committed religious slander on the day of his arrest. Timur's accusers claimed he had called the Muslim prophet Mohammed a "sorcerer."
Statements filed by witnesses of Timur's alleged slander appear to be contradictory as to exactly when and where the Turkish Christian had made his derogatory remark against Mohammed. Although one school administrator claimed he heard the slanderous comment while Timur was standing along the street talking with students, the police statements declare Timur said it while in a police car en route to security police headquarters.
During yesterday's brief hearing, Timur's defense lawyer, Kadir Pekdemir, declared that his client was in fact facing unfounded charges simply because of discrimination against his personal religious beliefs. A former Muslim, Timur converted to Christianity nearly five years ago and has since been baptized and officially changed his religion on his identity card. He is a member of Diyarbakir's small Turkish Protestant congregation.
But the presiding judge, who took over Timur's case last October from another justice, appeared unaware yesterday of the defendant's religious identity. "What is his religious affiliation?" he asked Pekdemir, who informed the judge that his client was a Protestant Christian.
After consulting with the state prosecutor, the judge ordered that the two absent officers report before the appropriate courts in Balikesir and Ankara to testify on the case, with their statements to be forwarded to the Diyarbakir court for Timur's next hearing, set for June 26.
Married with three children, Timur could be sentenced to six months or a year in jail if found guilty. A plumber by trade, he is among the ranks of Diyarbakir's unemployed, estimated at 70 percent of the population.
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Christians ordered to close place of worship
Local Protestant Congregations seek legal status
by Barbara G. Baker
Compass (4.02.2002) / HRWF (05.02.2002) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - Under orders from the Turkish Interior Ministry, local authorities in nine provinces of Turkey have launched judicial proceedings questioning the legality of designated places of worship used by some 40 small Protestant church groups across the country.
Since late November, provincial police authorities have delivered formal notifications to 23 congregations of Turkish Christians in Istanbul, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Bursa and Mersin, declaring that their rented or purchased places of worship are in violation of municipal building laws.
Addressed by name to the church leader of each "so-called house church," the notices declared that the church's meeting places violate established zoning laws. The congregations were informed that if they continued to meet in a place not officially zoned for religious use, legal action would be taken against them. Court cases on these charges are already in process concerning Protestant groups in Izmir, Istanbul, Mersin and Gaziantep.
The sweeping action against Turkey's evangelical churches, only a handful of which meet in so-called "recognized" church buildings constructed decades ago, was ordered by Ankara last August 17 in a directive entitled "requests to open places of worship."
Signed by Interior Ministry Undersecretary Muzaffer Ecemis, the directive listed several zoning laws, as well as articles from the Turkish Penal Code regulating religious education and public meetings, which prohibit the use of "apartment flats, shops and detached buildings" now being used as places of worship by "Protestants, Baha'is, Jehovah's Witnesses and Believers in Christ."
The directive reiterated the Turkish Constitution's guarantees of freedom of religious belief for all its citizens, as well as the "binding regulations" on religious freedom in various international conventions to which Turkey is a signatory. But it warned that it was a crime under Turkey's principles of secularism to establish places of worship without legal authorization.
The directive also declared that conducting Sunday schools, Bible schools or other religious education without permission from the Turkish Education Ministry is punishable with fines and prison sentences under Articles 526 and 529 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The governors were requested not to take official action to recognize any of the listed groups as legal entities whose places of worship are authorized by the state.
"What this seems to say to us is that we are not illegal, but neither are we legitimate!" an executive council leader of the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey told Compass. In response to the edict, member and associate churches with the Alliance have formed a new working group to resolve these legal issues.
While acknowledging that under Turkish law "the construction of sanctuaries is an unrestricted event," the directive noted that a "resident congregation" must be present to warrant such a church and it precluded the "haphazard" establishment of places of worship.
"Some highly-placed officials in Ankara are desperately trying to avoid recognizing the local Protestant church," one leader commented. "The construction and zoning laws are 'clutching at straws,' so as to not appear to be in violation of religious rights."
In contrast, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate admitted in late November that according to government findings, 81 percent of the mosques under construction in the country had obtained no license, and 55 percent had not even drawn up an architectural plan.
In December 2000, the Turkish Supreme Court overruled objections of the General Foundations Directorate and for the first time authorized official foundation status for a Turkish evangelical church. But despite the landmark decision handed down to the Istanbul Protestant Church, this congregation was also served notice in December that its newly renovated church facility in the city's Bostanci district violates local zoning laws.
Although several other Protestant groups have also applied for foundation status, none have yet received a court decision. Without this formal legal identity, they have no official financial status under which they can legally take offerings, purchase buildings or salary their pastors.
Ten of Istanbul's Protestant groups have already filed legal protests against the notice, declaring that their worship sites are not illegal under the constitution or existing laws of Turkey. Accordingly, they have informed the authorities that they will continue to meet in their established places of worship. The authorities have 60 days to respond.
Lawyer Mustafa Demir, who is representing most of the Istanbul congregations, said he would apply for a restraining order if there is an attempt to close down any of these churches by order of the state prosecutor's office before the cases are resolved in court.
"Given recent changes in the constitution, and the existing zoning practices allowing Muslim prayer houses," Demir commented last week, "there is no reason for these Protestant Christians to be intimidated. We will certainly win all these cases."
According to Orhan Kemal Cengiz, an Izmir human rights lawyer specializing in religious freedom issues, "There is no clear legislation in Turkish law on how to open a church in this country." But since the Turkish government has given its citizens the freedom to change their religion, Cengiz noted, this also means they have the freedom to propagate their religion, as well as to meet together for worship.
Turkey's population of 66 million is overwhelmingly Muslim, with a small ethnic minority of some 100,000 Armenian, Syrian and Greek Orthodox Christians and 25,000 Jews.
"We are privileged to live in a country where the constitution guarantees religious freedom," one Turkish pastor commented. "So we are obliged to be pro-active, to establish and clarify our status as Protestant Christians."
The Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey was formed as a loosely affiliated organization of Turkish-speaking churches of various Protestant denominations in 1989. Now representing several thousand Christians meeting in 40 congregations, it became a full member of the European Evangelical Alliance in October 2000.
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The Association for Liberal Thinking under pressure
HRWF (29.01.2002) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - Activists of the Association for Liberal Thinking, a think tank in Ankara, are prosecuted for having criticized a courts decision to close a Muslim party in Turkey.
The Association publishes a quarterly journal, Liberal Thought. The Summer 2001 edition of the journal contained an article by Mustafa Erdogan, its editor, and a leading professor of constitutional law, entitled "Turkey's Constitutional Court Problem under the Light of the Decision to Close the Virtue Party." This criticized the Court's decision to close the Virtue party, a Muslim party that is the successor of the Welfare Party. Similar criticisms of the court's decision have been voiced by others in Turkey.
In response, the judges have sued Mr. Erdogan, plus Mr. Kursat Kopuzlu, the director of the journal, plus Liberte Com., the publisher of the journal, for 40 billion TL (~$28,000 US) on the grounds of "moral damage." In addition, the press prosecutor (sic) in Ankara has filed to have Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Kopuzlu imprisoned for up to five years for defaming the judges.
Mr. Erdogan has already four cases pending against him under article 159 of the Turkish Penal code, which forbids insulting the Turkish State, army, public servants and nation. Each carries a sentence of up to six years. Another member of the Association for Liberal Thinking, Kazim Berzerg, a successful human rights lawyer faces two cases under article 159.
Atilla Yayla, who heads the association, is not (yet) in trouble with the political authorities, but is under investigation by his university for insulting national values and criticizing Ataturk. He is less concerned for his own personal situation than that of his colleagues, and the fact that, through these actions and several previous ones, the Association itself seems to be under attack.
The Association for Liberal Thinking is running a large project on freedom of expression under the sponsorship of EU. Preparations are going ahead to bring together the victims of denial of freedom of expression from different sections of society in a symposium planned for early March.
Atilla Yayla (*) recently declared to Freedom House (USA): "The establishment is trying to see possible reactions when they suppress us. If nobody cares what is happening, then they can take much further steps. So they should see some reaction from the international human rights community. Turkish authorities should be warned in words and maybe letters. The appearance of the news of assault in foreign media would be of great help. When the trial starts, some of our foreign friends can attend some sessions and this would also be very useful. We (ALT) are still lucky that we are a part of the west. Otherwise it could be much worse...."
(*) Atilla Yayla is a member of the advisory board of the religious freedom survey of Freedom House.He is also very much the type of person we want to support and encourage. He is a Muslim who is fighting for democracy and human rights: he has translated the "Federalist Papers," as well as other important works on democracy, into Turkish. The Association also brings together many democracy and human rights activists in Turkey. This is a free press issue and also involves religious freedom, since the article in question criticized the Constitutional court for the banning of the Virtue Party.
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