The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear a consolidated group of cases involving Christians expelled from or barred re-entry into Turkey after being branded “national security threats.” At least 160 foreign Christians—pastors, missionaries, educators, and long-term residents—were quietly assigned internal codes such as “N-82” and “G-87,” triggering deportation or visa denial without charges or due process. In nearly every case, the sole offense was open Christian worship or ministry.

This policy did not emerge in a vacuum. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has steadily shifted from secular governance toward Islamist nationalism. Erdoğan has repeatedly framed Christianity as a foreign, Western intrusion and has openly celebrated the re-Islamization of Turkey’s identity—most notably converting Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque in 2020. His government has portrayed missionaries as covert operatives, churches as subversive, and Christian growth as a threat to social order. The entry-ban system reflects this worldview: Christianity is not treated as a faith, but as dissent.

SOURCE: Christian Post