As the EU Commission today releases its Progress Report on Turkey’s preparations for EU membership, CSW highlights two cases which raise fresh concerns over the implementation of the country’s religious freedom obligations.
The trial of two men charged with “insulting Turkishness” under article 301 of the Turkish penal code has been scheduled for 23 November 2006.
Hakan Tastan, 37, and Turan Topal, 46, worked for a local Bible correspondence course. In October, Gendarme officials stormed Mr Tastan’s residence with a search warrant. They then confiscated computers and documents from the two men’s office in Istanbul. The men were transported to Silivri, where they were interrogated by military officials and taken to the prosecutor.
The men have also been accused of inciting hatred against Islam, negating the Turkish Army, promoting sexual promiscuity, bribing Muslims to convert to Christianity and gathering personal information about people they are in touch with. They deny all charges.
In a separate incident, Odemis Protestant Church in Izmir was attacked with six Molotov Cocktails by a group of fifteen people last Saturday. The church building was damaged in the attack, but no one was injured. Whilst the incident has been reported to police, no investigation seems to be forthcoming and no arrests have been made.
The pastor of the church, Mehmet Sahin Coban, reported that the church has been a target of similar attacks and threats in the past. In the two weeks prior to the attack, groups of people had thrown stones through the windows of the church. This was reported to the police, but no preventative measures were taken. Instead the church was asked to close down to comply with city zoning laws.
This attack was reported in the local media in Turkey, while the arrests of Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal were widely reported in national press.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s National Director, Stuart Windsor, says: “Both incidents raise difficult questions over the extent of improvements on religious freedom in Turkey. The Turkish Constitution guarantees various rights for religious minorities, including the right to open places of worship and propagate beliefs, but the implementation of such legal provisions does not match Turkey’s obligations under national and international law. As Turkey works to demonstrate its suitability to join the EU, it must prove its commitment to protecting the rights of religious minorities.”
Notes to Editors:
Nobel Prize winner Orphan Pamuk, the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the author Dr Elif Safak have all faced allegations under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. This was as a result of their remarks on the Armenian massacres of 1908-1915.
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