Turkey: Trial for Murder of Christians Begins

By Vivek Thiagarajan
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

MALATYA, Turkey- The trial began for the five men who allegedly killed three Christians.  On April 18, 2007, the Christians were killed in their publishing house during a Bible study.  Two Turkish converts and German missionary were in a Bible study when their attackers arrived.  The prosecutor has stated that he will seek the death penalty for the men accused of the crime.

“Their attackers tied the men to their chairs, targeting Tilmann Geske, a German father of three, before turning to Pastor Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel. By the time police arrived, the Turkish converts had been virtually decapitated, with their buttocks, testicles, stomachs and backs repeatedly stabbed, their fingers sliced and throats slashed from ear-to-ear. The accused, all between 19 and 20, allegedly filmed clips on their mobile phones.”  (Guardian Unlimited)

The trial is important because the Turkish judicial system must show that it is committed to protecting the minorities in the community.  The Christians have always faced a strong anti-Christian sentiment in Turkey despite only 350 official conversions to Christianity in the past 15 years.  (The Independent)

In the past, Christians were seen as rebels seeking to overthrow the existing government.  However, Turkey’s recent desire to enter the European Union has caused the Turkish government to relax its regulations and protect the country’s Christians.  Yet, as anti-Western sentiment has recently grown, the Christians have suffered more attacks from churches being burned and a priest was recently shot and killed.

The court must take a strong stance on protecting the country’s minorities, especially since it has begun air strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq.  The PKK is a Kurdish militia seeking independence for the Kurdish people.  The Turkish government must show that it is committed to protect the minorities, since the violence against minorities, especially Turkey’s 15 million Kurds, may increase because of the PKK’s recent attacks.  If the Turkish government allows the minorities to be marginalized then it could allow independent militias like the PKK to gain support.

For more information, please see:

Guardian Unlimited- Turks accused of killing Christians go on trial- 24 November 2007

Independent Online- Five on trial in Turkey for missionary murders- 24 November 2007

Today’s Zaman- Court adjourns Bible publisher murder case- 24 November 2007

BosNewsLife- Turkish Prosecutor Seeks Life Sentences For Killers Of Christian Missionaries- 23 November 2007

Author: Impunity Watch Archive