The Protestant community, with more than 170 communities spread throughout the country and 8 thousand faithful, is in the spotlight. For judges, expelling or prohibiting entry based on intelligence reports does not constitute a violation of religious practice. A majority decision, which the former president opposes. Meanwhile, there is again talk of a possible reopening of the Greek Orthodox seminary in Halki in the near future.
Istanbul () – The expulsion, by government authorities, of Protestant leaders and pastors at the head of Churches, based on reports from the secret services, “does not constitute a violation of religious freedom.” This has been ruled by the Constitutional Court in a majority decision taken in recent days that reopens more than one issue about the practice of worship. The Protestant community is in the spotlight, with more than 170 communities spread across the country that have been reporting problems and abuses for years: denied applications, revoked residence permits and forced deportations are just a few examples. However, for the judges, the government and administration acted in accordance with justice and there would have been no “violation” in prohibiting the entry or stay of the religious leaders who, in response, launched a protest taking the matter to court.
The Directorate of Immigration Management applied the restrictive code N-82 to Protestants already residents, which implies “prior authorization” of entry. The measure was adopted for reasons of public order, security or health, according to reports from the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) that described “missionary activities.” Residence permits were revoked, expulsion orders were issued against some, and those who went abroad on vacation were not allowed to return to Turkey. The religious officials then took the matter to court, but in the first and second instance there were no reasons to find violations and the decisions were “in accordance with the law and procedure.” According to the judges, it was possible to request a special permit or visa upon entry.
Hence the decision to appeal to the Constitutional Court, with the hypothesis of violations of religious freedom, which however were also rejected in this case, with the green light for a “proportionate” intervention in cases in which the activities had a “missionary” nature. “. Actions that, the judges say, can endanger “public order, security, the rights and freedoms of others or other values that prevail in the consideration.” Among the critical (and contrary) voices was that of the former president of the Constitutional Court Zühtü Arslan, who recalled that religious freedom is guaranteed by article 24 of the Constitution. “In a democratic society based on pluralism, the duty of the State,” he noted, “is not to accept that some of the various worldviews or beliefs are ‘wrong,’ but to take the necessary measures to enable individuals to live according to with their worldviews and beliefs.
Today, there are more than 8,000 Protestants in Turkey, mostly ethnic Turks, with 170 churches or congregations concentrated mainly in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, which in 2009 formed the Association of Protestant Churches. Its objective is “to be an organization of distribution, representation and solidarity” of the Protestant reality of the country, creating a place of “unity and cooperation”, as well as “supervise and determine” the “legal position” before the laws of the Turkish Republic . To date, Protestants cannot train their own clergy within the national education system, so some are led by foreign pastors.
According to the latest 2023 report, most of the 33 religious were marked with the code N-82, which means “foreigner whose entry is subject to prior authorization”, and the rest with the code G-87, which means “person who can pose a danger to general safety.” For this reason, the religious were forced to leave Turkey or were not allowed to re-enter the country. According to the association’s data, since 2019, 250 people have been prevented from entering, denied residence permits or deported, including US citizens Amanda Jolyn Krause, Benjamin Charles Mclure, Helmut Frank and Matthew Vern Black.
Finally, after years of stalemate, the dispute over the Greek Orthodox seminary (and theological school) of Halki appears to have been broken, one of the many theaters of discord between Greece and Turkey closed by Ankara in 1971 but which could soon be reopened. This is reported by the newspaper Karar, according to which the resumption of activities would be linked to the second wave of government reforms initiated after the local elections on March 31. Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, with a delegation, visited the area on May 29 to meet with officials of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox community. Previously, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had discussed the matter, with the former reiterating ongoing “efforts” toward reopening.
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