PRESS RELEASE
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
020 8329 0045
email: pennyhollings@csw.org.uk

8 November 2006

CSW RAISES FRESH CONCERNS OVER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY
AS EU COMMISSION RELEASES PROGRESS REPORT

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.’

For more information, please contact Penny Hollings, Campaigns and Media
Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 020 8329 0045, email
pennyhollings@csw.org.uk or visit
 
CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom,
works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes
religious liberty for all.

Notes to Editors:

1. Nobel Prize winner Orhan 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.

ENDS