Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel and Tilmann Geske killed in 2007.

Turkey (MNN) — More eyes are turning to Turkey as April 10 draws near. That’s when five men suspected of brutally killing three Christians in 2007--eventually dubbed the “Malatya Massacre” by Turkish press–will give their last defense before being sentenced.

It hasn’t come without controversy. Under a package of new laws passed by the Turkish Parliament, the detention limit for suspects on trial who have not yet been convicted was reduced from 10 to 5 years. That means the five men are no longer in prison.

IN Network Turkey Country Director Behnan Konutgan says the Church in Turkey is hopeful.

“They [the suspects] will be put again in a prison, and they will [be] forever and ever in a prison. I mean long life–long life sentence,” says Konutgan.

On April 18, 2007, two Turkish Muslim-background believers and a German missionary working at a Christian publishing house in Malatya suddenly found their lives on the line.

Konutgan recalls, “They were publishing New Testaments and distributing New Testaments, and five people [got] into the office and [bound] those people, and killed them–brutally killed them.”

Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel, and Tilmann Geske were reportedly tied to chairs, tortured, and interrogated about their Christian activities, according to Morning Star News. Then, the killers slit the men’s throats as police arrived on the scene.

The attack shocked churches in the region; believers as far away as Istanbul knew the victims, according to SAT-7. Aydin had played the role of Jesus Christ in a TURK-7 Easter production.

While many suspects were initially apprehended, officials quickly narrowed down their selection to five. Court records indicate these men have stated they were “defending their country and religion, Islam.”

After years of delay tactics from the defendants’ legal team, it appeared as though the Malatya Massacre case was finally drawing to a close at the end of February. State Prosecutor Zafer Hazar demanded three consecutive life sentences for the five killers, Christian Today reports. In addition, the presiding judge expressed his desire to conclude the case by June 2014.

However, a new Turkish law allowed the men to be released from prison earlier this month.

“The government did this to release the generals,” explains Konutgan.  “There have been around 340 generals in big ranks in the prison, and they wanted to make [them] free. With those people, the killers also were freed.”

The suspects’ release caused an initial uproar, and it wasn’t contained to the Christian community.

“The whole country, I tell you: the President himself, ministers, and journalists are not happy with this,” Konutgan notes.

“The Minister of Justice himself said that he was really sorry. He assured our brothers, he assured the church, that those killers will soon be back into prison again, and they will be under control.”

To appease the public, courts restricted the suspects to house arrest. They’ve placed the men on “tethers,” or electronic monitoring devices, and restricted them to a 200-meter perimeter around their containment facility.

As the clock ticks down to April 10, many people are concerned the suspects will try to flee the country. Pray against this, and that pray the victims’ families will finally see justice.

Is there a silver-lining to this story?  Konutgan says, yes. “Since then there [is] no real danger for the Christians and freely we distribute the Gospel. Now, we are ‘more free’ than ever. And the churches are growing.”

Konutgan and other Turkish believers are remembering their slain comrades by visiting Malatya on April 18. They’re going for another reason, too. “That day, the Malatya church has built a place and the church will be opening then. So we will remember our brothers and attend the opening of the church.”

Pray that this new church in Malatya will shine the light of Christ brightly.

Konutgan is urging you to “remember the Church in the Middle East. Pray that those Christians will be courageous to defend the Gospel, even though [they’re] in the midst of tribulation.”

IN Network’s programs in Turkey are designed to strengthen believers and reach out to nonbelievers. Click here to come alongside their efforts.

But during the six recent consecutive days of court hearings, the massacre mastermind failed to show up. On the stand, one of the defendants denied any connection to the prime suspect.

"We went on an expedition on behalf of Islam on our own to accomplish this event," said defendant Emre Gunaydin.

A recurring theme seems to have surfaced for this trial: one step forward, three steps back.

In late 2007, five men went to trial and faced life sentences for tying up, torturing, and slitting the throats of Necati Aydin, 35, Ugur Yuksel, 32, and German national Tilmann Geske, 46. A year later, the Turkish Interior Ministry investigated accusations against state prosecutors for mishandling the case. The case was expanded in 2009 when evidence suggested the attacks were instigated by Ergenekon, a loose collection of ultra-nationalist generals, businessmen, mafia and journalists. It hit a bump in the road in June 2009 when a suspected middleman failed to show up for court. Although the end seemed to be in sight in 2010, the trial dragged on for another two years.

In June, CDN recounts, the courts accepted a new indictment accusing military higher-ups of orchestrating the attacks. The 761-page report claims the murders were planned by a retired military general as part of the Cage Action Plan, formed by military officials trying to undercut the government through "assassinations, threats, and acts of terror against Turkey's non-Muslim minorities."

"This indictment provides the first solid evidence that our military authorities officially assigned the named suspects to monitor and attack the Christians in Malatya," a representative told CDN.

The case's prime suspect, 70-year-old Ret. Gen. Hursit Tolon, reportedly sent the court a 10-day medical excuse from his prison cell. CDN said Tolon and the remaining suspects will testify on November 12, when hearings are scheduled to resume.

Two widows, five young children, and a fiancée survive the victims of the Malatya Massacre. Keep them in your prayers, and pray for the quick resolution of this case. Turkey is #31 on the Open Doors World Watch List. Pray for boldness for Turkish believers.