The Turkish government faces a legal challenge for banning a U.S. Christian who lived in the country for 34 years.
The ban on Kenneth Arthur Wiest, a church helper in Türkiye, is part of a wider government campaign that “systematically targets” foreign Christians on the pretense of national security, according to legal aid group Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADFI).
ADFI filed a legal challenge on behalf of Wiest, who had lived in Türkiye since 1985 with his wife and three adult children before the government banned him in 2019, in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Türkiye based its 2019 ban on information from its National Intelligence Organization. Wiest has fought his expulsion since 2021, advocacy group Middle East Forum reported.
Speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
“Türkiye’s labeling of peaceful Christian residents as ‘security threats’ is a clear misuse of law and an attack on freedom of religion or belief,” Rieder said.
Governmental manipulation of administrative or immigration systems to exclude people solely for their faith undermines both the rule of law and principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence that the OSCE was founded to protect, she said.
Since 2020, Türkiye has expelled more than 200 foreign Christian workers and their families, affecting 350 people, including many who had lived in the country for decades, according to ADFI.
The Ministry of Interior assigned these people “security codes” such as N-82 and G-87, effectively banning their re-entry and classifying them as national security threats. At least 35 new codes were issued against foreign Christians between December 2024 and January alone, depriving Protestant churches of pastoral leadership and disrupting life for congregation members.
ADFI is supporting 30 legal cases before the European Court of Human Rights of foreign Christians that Türkiye has banned. Türkiye’s constitution enshrines freedom of religion and conscience, but “government practice tells a different story,” according to an ADFI press statement.
“Entry bans and deportations have increasingly served as tools to silence foreign Christian workers, while theological training remains heavily restricted – the historic Halki Seminary remains closed, and Protestant seminaries continue to lack legal status,” ADFI stated.
The group added that Türkiye prohibits Bible education even as it freely permits Islamic theological courses under state oversight.
Church properties also face unjust restrictions, with congregations such as the Bursa Protestant community being forced out of long-standing places of worship, ADFI noted. These practices reveal a “pattern of systemic discrimination against Christians” that clearly violates the European Convention on Human Rights and Türkiye’s own constitutional guarantees, the group stated.
The forthcoming Wiest v. Türkiye court battle will likely set an important precedent for religious freedom protection in Europe, according to ADFI.
“Authorities banned Mr. Wiest, a U.S. citizen who had resided legally in Türkiye for over 30 years, from returning without evidence of wrongdoing,” ADFI stated.
Rieder said his case represents a growing number of Christians the government punishes for peacefully practicing their faith.
“Freedom of religion cannot exist if believers live under threat of expulsion for practicing their faith,” she said. “The OSCE and its participating states have pledged to promote tolerance and non-discrimination. We must uphold these commitments not only in word, but in action.”
