Turkey: Expulsion of foreign Christians confirmed by Constitutional Court

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled in support of the government's decision to expel nine foreign Christians from the country for alleged "missionary activities", designating them as "risks to national security" (ADF International, 13 June 2024). However, six of the thirteen judges strongly disagreed with the court’s majority decision, stating that “it is impossible to categorically … regard ‘missionary’ activity … as a threat to public order or security.”

World Watch Research analyst Michael Bosch comments: “The expelled Christians can now appeal at the European Court of Human Rights and it is very likely that the EU court will rule in their favor. Evidently, the Turkish court decision cannot be separated from the 2010 constitutional reforms that  handed the government the power to appoint judges (Oder, 12 March 2024)[1]. As a result, the Turkish judiciary has sided with President Erdogan’s AKP-dominated government in clear violation of religious freedom as protected by the international treaties to which Turkey is a party; thus, Turkey is again taking a step away from the rule of law. It is also worth noting that, although the nine expelled Christians can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, the Turkish government has ignored previous EU court rulings on several occasions, most notably regarding the ongoing detention without conviction of philanthropist and human rights defender Osman Kavala (Reuters, 3 February 2022).”

Michael Bosch continues: “Surprisingly, the Turkish Court decided to publish the names of the nine foreign Christians. This constitutes a serious security risk for the persons involved, especially given the violent responses towards them in the media (Haber7, 8 June 2024). Although a significant part of Turkish society does not agree with the hatred shown towards Christians in general, the levels of abuse do not come as a surprise. In June 2024, the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches (TEK) published their annual report, noting that “2023 saw an increase from the previous year in both written and oral hate speech aimed at ... Protestant Christian individuals or institutions” (Christian Daily International, 8 June 2024).”

Michael Bosch is hopeful that the situation for Turkey’s Christians will change one day: “Opposition parties have clearly stated that they want to reverse the current state of affairs and return to the rule of law. However, for the time-being, the political situation remains quite bleak for the Christian minority.”