Since the failed coup of July 2016, the level of intolerance against those not siding with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intensified. Turkish nationalism, combined with the growing Islamisation of Turkish society, means the tiny Christian minority, and other religious minorities, face mounting pressure, which is increasingly translating into violent incidents. While religious conversion is not prohibited by Turkish law, there are serious implications for Muslims who convert to Christianity, as they often experience intense pressure from family, friends and community to return to Islam.
Turkey orders deportation of pastor’s American wife, a mother-of-three, in string of expulsions
An American mother-of-three has been told she has to leave Turkey, one of the latest incidents in a series of expulsions of Christian expatriates from the country. Joy Anna Crow Subasigüller, originally from Florida, USA, and her Turkish husband Lütfü were married seven years ago. They settled and started a […]
Korean murdered in southeast Turkey ‘for mobile phone’
Criminal investigations into the stabbing to death of a Korean Christian last week in southeast Turkey’s largest city are continuing under a cloak of judicial secrecy, as authorities search for evidence to resolve the controversy over the killer’s motive. South Korean Jin-Wook Kim, 41, was murdered in a late-night Nov. […]
Turkey serves deportation order after German’s 20 years of tourism work
Without any warning, the Turkish government last month notified a German who’s worked for two decades in its tourism sector that his routine application to renew his residency visa had been denied. Abruptly, 58-year-old Hans-Jurgen Louven was then ordered to leave Turkey – where he owns property, and […]
Pastor Brunson case increased ‘hate speech’ against Turkey’s Protestants – report
Turkey’s high-profile criminal case against Protestant pastor Andrew Brunson has triggered a significant increase in public hate speech against the nation’s small Protestant community, creating what its church leaders last week called a ‘climate of insecurity’ for its congregations and individual members. According to the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches’ […]
Turkey refuses entry to N. American Christian evangelist
Turkish immigration authorities refused to permit Canadian-American Christian David Byle to enter Turkey when he returned to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport last week. After living and ministering in Turkey for the past 19 years, the 49-year-old evangelist was told by police officials on his arrival on 20 November that a […]
Turkey gives Western Christian evangelist 15 days to leave country
After 20 months in bureaucratic limbo, Canadian-American Christian David Byle was arrested on 13 October and detained overnight by security police in Ankara, the Turkish capital. His detention took place the morning after US pastor Andrew Brunson was ordered released by an Izmir court and allowed to return to the […]
Turkey’s Protestant Christians ‘feel stronger’ after trauma of Brunson case
A spokesman for Turkey’s Protestant Christians declared yesterday that his country’s tiny Christian community has “emerged stronger” from the high-profile trauma of evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson’s highly contested imprisonment and trial. The US pastor’s two-year ordeal culminated in a Turkish court’s decision on 12 October for his release and departure […]
Brunson freed, permitted to leave Turkey
Andrew Brunson, the American-born pastor who was charged with espionage against Turkey and held in custody for two years, has been released and is free to leave the country. A Turkish court on Friday, 12 October, convicted the Presbyterian pastor on terrorism and espionage charges related to the failed 2016 coup […]
Andrew Brunson’s legal appeal sent to Turkey’s highest court
Jailed US pastor Andrew Brunson’s lawyer has filed a formal appeal before the Turkish Constitutional Court to overturn two lower court refusals to release his client from house arrest. The 10-page petition, studied by World Watch Monitor, called for “urgent” and “corrective” action by Turkey’s highest court to set free […]
Key witness testimony against Brunson refuted by Bloomberg
A hard-hitting investigative report by Bloomberg has targeted an unsubstantiated conspiracy link forged by Turkish prosecutors between jailed US pastor Andrew Brunson and Mormon missionaries. The alleged complicity between Brunson and an American Mormon neighbour living near to each other in the Alsancak district of Izmir features prominently in the […]