Turkey taken to task over Christians banned from the country

Turkish actions barring foreign Christians from the country are being considered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Since 2020, over 200 foreign Christian employees have been expelled from the country, in total impacting around 350 people. Many Protestant congregations are left without spiritual leadership, as lots of those targeted are ordained ministers, a few of whom have spent many years within the country.

Foreign Christians are often barred from entering or re-entering the country on “national security” grounds.

The ECHR has “communicated” 20 such cases with the Turkish authorities and asked the country to submit its observations because the cases proceed.

Dr Lidia Rider, legal officer for ADF International, which is supporting those affected, said, “Peaceful worship and participation in church life should not threats to national security. Yet foreign Christians in Turkey — pastors, teachers, ministry employees, and missionaries — have been labelled security risks and expelled based on undisclosed files.

“Deprived of access to the allegations, that they had no meaningful opportunity to defend themselves in courts. The Court’s communication of those cases is a vital step toward accountability and redress.”

As a Muslim-majority nation, Turkey has a mixed record on its treatment of its Christian minority.

On the one hand Turkish authorities have acted to forestall ISIS atrocities targeting Christians, with over 100 arrests taking stopping planned attacks last Christmas.

On the opposite hand, a report published last yr by the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) states that Christians in Turkey proceed to face legal, administrative and social obstacles.

The Turkish state has enacted “policies aimed toward creating an ethnically and religiously homogeneous Turkish Sunni Muslim nation”. There have been a minimum of 12 documented physical attacks on churches since 2020, some involving firearms or explosives.

Christianity and Christian converts are sometimes portrayed negatively in textbooks and media and “hate speech” against Christians is “widespread” within the media and public discourse.

The report also details the confiscation or transfer of ownership of greater than 1,000 church properties since 2002, and the continued denial of legal personality to many Christian associations, stopping them from owning property in their very own name or opening churches.

Kelsey Zorzi, Director of Global Religious Freedom for ADF International, welcomed the motion taken by the ECHR.

She said, “These should not isolated mistakes or one-off decisions. By examining these cases together, the Court is acknowledging that they could reveal a pattern of discrimination against Christians in Turkey.

“We look to the Court to uphold the basic principle that governments cannot strip people of their rights simply for living out their faith.”