Christians in Türkiye suffered an upsurge in hate crimes in 2024 compared with the previous year, according to a human rights report.
The Association of Protestant Churches’ 2024 Human Rights Violation Report noted a number of hate crimes despite Türkiye’s official protections of religious freedom.
“Protestant Christian individuals or institutions experienced hate crimes or associated physical attacks due solely to their faith,” noted the report. “2024 saw an increase from the previous year in both written and oral hate speech aimed at provoking hate in public opinion, both written and verbal, that was directed at Protestant Christian individuals or institutions.”
Among reported incidents was an armed attack on the Salvation Church association building in Çekmeköy on Dec. 31, with an assailant firing shots from a car and attempting to remove signs from the facility.
“It was noted that the same individual also reacted against citizens who were celebrating the New Year and said, ‘We will not allow you to brainwash our Muslim youth! Oh infidels, you will be defeated and swept up into hell,’” the report noted. “When a reporter later asked the individual why he had done this, his reply was, ‘Because I felt like it.’”
Assailants fired shots at the Eskişehir Salvation Church building on Jan. 20, 2024, when no one was inside, according to the report. Bullets hit a dentist’s clinic below the church’s level.
“Police who attended the scene did not retrieve the bullet casing, nor did they file a report,” the report noted. “The crime was not recorded, and there was no follow-up investigation by police.”
An English teacher who is a Christian lost her job on Dec. 9 at a private evening class school linked to the Malatya Board of Education. Administrators gave her no cause, but a school director told her, “Be careful which associations you attend and the foreigners you make friends with,” according to the report.
An appeal to the board of education and security authorities was dismissed.
“She did not open a court case for unfair dismissal because she is concerned about the possible repercussions for her older sister who is a civil servant,” noted the report.
In Kuşadası, a partially burned New Testament was left outside a church building on March 12. In Kayseri on July 2, unknown assailants attacked the Kayseri Church’s laundromat and food distribution center, which serves refugees.
In Bahçelievler on July 28, two people attempted to force open the door of Bahçelievler Grace Church, damaging its sign.
On Nov. 28, two people insulted church members outside İzmir Karşıyaka Salvation Church, asking, “Why don’t the local people murder you?”
A pastor at Suruç Church, working in a bookshop, was accused of trying to change people’s religion and asked if he was a missionary. Muslims also issued threats on social media, with one commenting, “May God punish you, this is a Muslim city, how dare you celebrate Christmas here, you cannot brainwash anyone, are you not afraid about having to give an account to God.”
The report also stated that police tried to bribe two members of Malatya Church into becoming informants, telling them, “This is to ensure your safety.” Officers offered a large sum of money to one of the Christians, saying, “We need someone we can trust on the inside.” Police also indicated that the church was under surveillance.
In Lüleburgaz, the local office of the Salvation Churches Association fell victim to a campaign to close it down. The report noted “problems concerning its sign,” and then a “campaign of signatures attempted to close it down.” Finally, a local governor used a court process to close the office on the basis of its religious activities.
“Because this court case could threaten the survival of all the other Salvation Churches, this representative office was closed and the court case lapsed,” the report stated.
In Kütahya, landlords refused to rent premises to Kütahya Church after the fellowship was forced to leave its premises.
“No landlord in town was prepared to rent to a church,” stated the report. “One realtor asked the church’s representative to leave his office, saying ‘I am a Muslim. It would not be right for me to find you a location. Your very existence is a threat.’ The church is still struggling to find a place to meet.”
Members of the Eastern Black Sea Salvation Church suffered a number of hate speech incidents. Some faced workplace pressures because of their Christian faith, resulting in them leaving their jobs or churches.
Muslims prevented church members from proselytizing in a café, and the child of a church member who is married to a Muslim was told at school, “Your father is a Muslim, so you are a Muslim.”
Other churches encountered obstacles from authorities. Didim Light Church was denied permission to distribute brochures about itself, and officials prevented Antalya Bible Church “multiple times” from inviting Turks to Easter and Christmas celebrations.
“They also received threatening telephone calls and messages from many people,” noted the report.
Social Media Insults
The report recorded increased use of social media to insult Protestant Christians.
“We encounter speech filled with insults and profanity directed at official church social media accounts, church leaders, Christianity, Christian values and Christians in general; these often originate from the activity of social media groups that cultivate hatred against Christians and have targeted Christian websites and social media accounts,” stated the report.
An unnamed person on Dec. 29 targeted the pastor of Suruç Church with hate speech on social media after Christmas celebrations, saying, “…enough is enough, may God give the priest who opened a church in Suruç what he deserves…we expect the government authorities to act immediately in this matter.”
At Karşıyaka Salvation Church on the same day, security forces interrupted a worship service to check the identification of church members and guests.
Foreign Christians
Foreign Christians living in Türkiye also suffered.
Authorities levied N-82 codes banning entry to the country or G-87 codes denying residence visas. Between 2019 and 2024, 132 of these people received an entry ban code, causing problems for churches relying on foreign pastors, according to the report.
Although local Christians offer spiritual leadership, the foreign church leaders “continued to be unrecognized as a profession by local authorities and official bodies.”
Among churches suffering from such bans were Christian leaders at Eastern Black Sea Salvation Church.
Foreign Christians were deported, refused entry to Türkiye or denied residence permits and visas in 2024, according to the report.
“Many congregations were left in a difficult situation, and there continues to be a great need for religious workers,” added the report, listing denied individuals as nationals from the U.S.A., U.K, South Korea, Germany, other European countries, Latin America and other regions.
“Most of these people have settled in our country for many years and live here with their families,” the report highlighted. “These people have no criminal record, investigation or court documents concerning them. This situation has exposed a huge humanitarian problem. Having someone from a family receive an unexpected entry ban shatters family unity and leaves everyone in the family facing a chaotic situation.”
A constitutional court on June 8 ruled against nine foreign Christians appealing against an N-82 code restricting their residence permission in the country. Further details about the circumstances were not disclosed.
“The names of these nine Christians were published by the court, which led to their being accused by many media outlets of being ‘missionaries’ and enemies of the state; many instances of hate speech against them were widely shared,” stated the report. “In particular, many social media comments called for the death penalty against these Christians or commented that it was a religious duty to kill them.”
Protestants in Türkiye number 214 fellowships of varying sizes, with most located in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Of this number, 152 have gained legal status as “religious foundations, church associations, or representative branches.” The remaining 62 fellowships lack legal entity status.
Protestant communities face challenges finding places to worship, noted the report, if they are not deemed traditional in outlook. Rents for churches can also be “unusually high.” A lack of recognition for fellowships meeting in locations such as rented shops or depots means the churches miss benefits such as free electricity or tax exemptions from authorities.
“Because members of the Protestant community are mostly new Christians, they do not have religious buildings that are part of their cultural and religious heritage like traditional Christian communities have in Turkey [Türkiye],” stated the report. “There are very few historical church buildings which are available for use.”
Religious personnel were banned from the Turkish National Education system, so Protestant communities provide their own training.
“In 2024, the laws in Turkey [Türkiye] continued to block the possibility of training Christian clergy and the opening of schools to provide religious education for the members of church communities in any way,” noted the report. “Yet the right to train and develop religious leaders is one of the foundational pillars of the freedom of religion and belief.”
The Protestant community solves this issue by providing apprentice training, giving seminars within Türkiye, sending students abroad or utilizing the support of foreign clergy, the report stated.
Other issues include difficulties for Christians obtaining a non-Islamic based education and a lack of cemeteries for Christians.
The association recommended proactively training public officials on religious freedom rights and ending policies prohibiting the entry of foreign Protestants to the country.
