Why Türkiye’s Systematic Banishment of Christians Must be Challenged

Over the past 100 years, the number of Christians in Türkiye has fallen from 20 percent to 0.2 percent of the population. The systematic targeting of Turkish Christians and missionaries from abroad by the Turkish government has significantly contributed to this trend. Human rights experts highlighted the growing intolerance against Christians in Türkiye at Europe’s largest human rights conference, which was hosted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Warsaw, Poland on Oct. 5. 

As the Islamisation of the country progresses, Open Doors reports that the pressure on the Christian community has increased massively since the coup attempt by a faction of the armed forces in 2016. There is arguably a dictatorial paranoia that sees an enemy in all foreign actors, manifesting in anti-Christian sentiment. Conspiracy theories often paint Christians as collaborators with foreign powers seeking to undermine Turkish identity. The government spends enormous sums of money to spread Islam at home and abroad through one of its largest ministries, the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs. Alongside these efforts, it has become increasingly wary of a small number of Christian missionaries residing in the country. 

In 2016, the imprisonment of American pastor Andrew Brunson (released in 2018) led to the flight of many missionaries from the country and fewer Christian workers coming to Türkiye for jobs. And those who stay have faced escalating challenges. At least 75 foreign Christian workers and their families have been expelled from Türkiye between 2020 and 2023, reports Open Doors. 

In 2009, British couple Rachel and Mario Zalma moved to Istanbul to support a new Christian church community. They invested significant time into learning the language, history, and customs of the local people. With the desire to be a blessing to the neighborhood, their church offered free English lessons and a parent-child playgroup. Donations from their annual Christmas fair went to local charities. 

In 2018, however, the Zalmas heard word of other Christians barred from entering Türkiye after returning from trips to their home countries. Turkish authorities had begun branding Christians with the so-called “N-82” security code, identifying a person as a “threat to public order and security”. One such Christian was American-Canadian minister David Byle. His family of seven had called Türkiye home for more than 19 years. But after having tricked him into leaving the country with an “exit permit” in 2018, authorities imposed a permanent entry ban on David, which he only discovered at the airport upon trying to return home to his family. Exiled from Türkiye, the Byles now reside in Germany.  

The authorities went even further in the case of U.S.-missionary-couple Pam and David Wilson. After living in Türkiye for nearly four decades, they were assigned a G87 code and effectively banned from the country. This code, normally reserved for terrorists, labels them as a “threat to security”. And then, the trend caught up to the Zalmas. Before leaving on a trip to the U.K. in 2019, Mario was informed that he also had been slapped with the N-82 code. When Rachel received hers in the summer of 2020, the Zalmas decided to return to England and challenge the “security code” from there.  

As demonstrated by these cases, the government is wielding these codes as a weapon. It is a cunning tool to obscure their actions because, through the use of these codes, documents become classified, an air of secrecy and unquestionability surrounds the cases, and the legal process is effectively paralyzed. As a result of documents produced during the Zalma’s court proceedings, it has come to light that the Turkish government had classified many Christians in attendance at the 2019 Family Conference of the Association of Turkish Protestant Churches as a security risk. So far, the 2022 Human Rights Violations Report presented by the Protestant Church Association records 185 people who have arbitrarily been branded with the N-82-code preventing them from entering Türkiye.  

Christian human rights organization ADF International currently is supporting over 20 such cases. It has brought several cases, including those of the Wilsons and the Zalmas, before the European Court of Human Rights. As noted by Dr. Lidia Rieder, Legal Officer for ADF International, “Our hope is that Europe’s top human rights court will hold Türkiye accountable for its treatment of foreign Christians so that they can live in the country without fear of expulsion. Designating Christians as security threats solely because they share their convictions, is a severe violation of religious freedom”. ADF International hosted a high-level panel discussion on the issue at the OSCE conference this past week to raise international attention to the plight of Christians in Türkiye.

Everyone has the right to choose, change, and share their faith freely. That’s why it is essential that legal guarantees to combat religious intolerance, particularly towards Christians, are effectively implemented rather than flouted by Turkish authorities. Those seeking to freely live out their faith, serving others and seeking to be a blessing to their communities, should not be labeled as “threats to security” or, worse, “terrorists”. The world must pay attention to the mounting intolerance facing Christians in Türkiye and other countries beyond the EU and denounce these systematic violations of religious freedom.  

Sofia Hörder serves as Communications Officer for ADF International, which is supporting the legal defense of many Christians banned from Türkiye by bringing their cases to the European Court of Human Rights.