Ninth Court Hearing Held for Christians Accused of ''Insulting Turkishness''

02 July 2008

Two Turkish Christians, Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, have been on trial for "insulting Turkishness and Islam" for twenty months (click here for more details). During a June 24 hearing, a criminal court in Silviri requested a judicial review of one of three charges against them, according to a June 27 report from Compass Direct. The judge ordered the review due to the Turkish Parliament's amendment of article 301 of the Penal Code, which changed the wording from "insulting Turkishness" to "insulting the Turkish nation" and required that permission be obtained from the Ministry of Justice for someone to be charged under the article. The court will continue, however, to prosecute the men on the other two charges against them -- reviling Islam and compiling information files on private citizens. Also during the hearing, both teenage witnesses for the prosecution testified that they had neither met nor seen Tastan or Topal prior to court, contradicting the prosecution's claim that they had been given literature and invited to church by the Christians.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Turkey, go to the Turkey Country Report.

Turkey

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Country Information
Population
83,593,483 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Turkish (70-75), Kurdish (19), other minorities (7-12)

Religion (%)
Islam (99.8), other (0.2)

Leader
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2014)

Government type
Parliamentary republic

Legal system
Civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Turkey
Prayerfully uphold those who have had their churches and places of worship taken over by a government that does not represent their beliefs, values or ordinances. Ask the Lord to oversee the mediation process as church officials and government representatives endeavour to work out a solution that is both honouring to Him and fair to all the members of the various churches. Despite the challenges experienced by the believers of this country, may they have a sense of God's reassuring presence and peace, knowing that one day He will reign supremely and justly over the entire earth.