Turkish Christians are often under scrutiny by state or local authorities. At the church of FMI-supported Pastor Izzet, police will show up and intimidate churchgoers.

Pastor Izzet says, “As the people come to the church, they’ll set up a video camera and take pictures of all the people that come into the church. We can’t share a lot of that just because of security reasons, but there are a lot of things like that that are just very discomforting to people.”

It’s true that the persecuted Church often grows despite persecution. Many Christians in Turkiye boldly stand for their faith in the face of intimidation and persecution.

However, “Especially for people who are weaker in the faith, this is not an opportunity for evangelism. It’s often actually a stumbling block for them.”

Malatya, Turkiye (Photo courtesy of Yakup Polat/Pexels)

Pastor Izzet says, “In 2007 in the city of Malatya, three of our brothers were killed — martyred for their faith — and a lot of people during that time left the Church. They say, ‘This is too much of a test for us. We don’t want to go through this.’ A lot of other people said, ‘We’re ready to stand and fight for this, and we’ll stand for the truth of what we believe in.’

“So this is not a hobby. This is not a game. This is actually life or death for us.”

Pray for unwavering faith among Turkish church leaders and young believers.

“There are a lot of leaders who have served the Church for many years, but of course, they’re getting older. So we need a new generation of younger leaders to step forward and take their role,” says Pastor Izzet.

“Pray that we would do evangelism well and pray for abundant and abiding fruit. Pray that the Lord would provide new and courageous leaders for the Church.”

You can support pastors in Turkiye with FMI here and directly encourage the persecuted Turkish Church.

Header photo courtesy of Igor Sporynin/Unsplash.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

Turkish Christians are there now on the frontlines of quake relief. As a despised minority, there are only around 10,000 Christians in Turkiye — a country of 84 million.

Bruce Allen with FMI says, “The majority population has treated them as enemies of the state. But now, the majority population is embracing the Christians because of the excellence in care that is being shown by the Christians for their neighbors – whoever their neighbors are.

“They’re taking turns — the church members — to head out to the stricken areas for five or 10-day shifts to volunteer on the frontlines in the eastern cities like Diyarbakir or Malatya.

“They’ve actually helped gather 40 tons of goods like shoes, clothing, blankets, food, baby formula, [and] hygiene items. Even today, two more people from their small church just departed to volunteer on the frontlines.”

Their ministry is having an eternal impact as it opens Gospel conversations.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

Allen says an FMI-supported pastor told him the story of a 60-year-old atheist woman. “Previously, she says, ‘I was feeling very self-sufficient. I could handle anything. I didn’t need God.’ But because of the crisis of the earthquake, she realized a desperate need and that need opened her heart to the hope found only in the Gospel of Christ. So she’s also been attending his church and she recently placed her faith in Jesus Christ.”

Pray for the Turkish people to find comfort and hope in Jesus.

Click here to learn more about FMI.

Header photo courtesy of FMI.

By the time you get through the initial crime scene to the end of the trial, you involve secret organizations, the ‘deep state’ and conspiracy theories galore.  However, this isn’t fiction—it involves three Christian converts, religious freedom in Turkey and 12 years of fighting for justice.

(Photo courtesy VOM-AU)

The latest update came on January 23, 2019.  Middle East Concern’s Miles Windsor  has been closely following the case over the years.  He shares the good news, first.  “The courts in Turkey have upheld the verdict that was issued against the five perpetrators of the tortures and murders of the three Christian men in Malatya.”  Now, the not-so-good news.  The Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey (TeK) also made a request. “There was a hope that the courts would seek to uncover a wider network of organizers of this crime, but that’s been rejected. That’s a disappointing development, but perhaps one which was to be expected.”

The back-story:

On 18 April 2007, police caught Emre Günaydın, Cuma Özdemir, Salih Gürler, Abuzer Yıldırım and Hamit Çeker at Zirve publishing house in Malatya.  The trio tortured and killed Christian converts Ugur Yuksel and Necati Aydin and German national Tilman Geske.

On 28 September 2016, the 1st Criminal Court in Malatya sentenced each of the five perpetrators to three consecutive life sentences for murder, 30 years for “depriving a person of their liberty” and an additional 9 years and 9 months for “qualified attempted robbery.” In addition, the judges handed down  sentences of 13 years 9 months and 14 years 10 months and 22 days to two military personnel.  The Court also acquitted sixteen other defendants, believed to have been involved in planning the murders. The court acknowledged the involvement of unofficial organizations in the planning of the attack, but said that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. The defendants appealed.

On 18 July 2017, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of Gaziantep District Court upheld the sentences against the perpetrators, but acquitted the two military personnel for lack of evidence. The perpetrators appealed further, and the TeK appealed the acquittal of the military officers.  The Court dismissed both of these appeals in the 23 January verdict.

 What now?

(Photo courtesy Middle East Concern)

Unless taken to the Constitutional Court, the decision is final.   Even with relief that comes with the case finally being over, the larger question remains.  In such a high profile criminal case, why did it take 12 years to finally get justice? Windsor explains, “Some speculation about why that was, was to do with the politics underlying it. It involved military personnel; it involved suggestions of clandestine organizations such as ‘Ergenekon’ and the ‘deep state’ in Turkey.”  The belief was that there were a great many others that were involved in this act of violence against these three Christian men, beyond those convicted of the murders.

There’s frustration that others who were involved escape accountability.  It also underscores the sense that the rights of Turkish Christians, especially converts, are somehow less than Turkish citizens who are Muslim.  Windsor notes, “I think it’s important to develop a clear understanding of some of these situations that happen in other countries, and some of the challenges that Christians face, when it comes to obtaining justice.”  Strong religious nationalism permeates Turkish society and puts significant pressure on Christians.  For those who leave Islam, especially for those who embrace Christianity,  conversion is a betrayal of their Turkish identity.  It often results in opposition and pressure from friends, family and community.

Why pray?

Turkey ranks 26^th on this year’s Open Doors World Watch List, a ranking of the top 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.   It means more scrutiny for those who follow Christ.  The Malatya murders rattled believers because the men who committed the act came in the guise of wanting to know more about the Gospel, even attending a service led by Pastor Aydin.  To that end,  “The Turkish Christian community would also value prayer that God would continue to comfort and strengthen all who were affected by the murdered, as well”, says Windsor, adding, “It’s not an easy place to be a Christian, so prayer for God’s peace sustaining them.”

(Headline photo courtesy Middle East Concern)

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.

The original case
stems from the brutal murders of three people (Necati Aydin and Ugur Yüksel and
Christian German national Tilmann Geske)
who sold Christian literature in a publishing house in the eastern province of
Malatya.   

IN Network USA
president Rody Rodeheaver explains, "There
were several young men who were caught red-handed in this situation. But there
has always been the feeling that the people who wielded the knives were not the
people who really were behind this."

The arrested are accused of having masterminded and instigated
the April murders as part of Ergenekon's plan to lay the groundwork for a
military takeover. Rodeheaver says that led to more
investigation which uncovered the dark underbelly of Turkey. "They felt that it was a shadowy group
called 'Ergenekon' which is a terrorist group at the highest levels of the Turkish
military; their goal is to undermine the Turkish government and to keep
them out of the European union."

The reason the  judges of
the Third Criminal Court of Malatya wanted to hear the testimony was so
they could prepare another part of the case that links the suspects to the masterminds. So far, that's been a tough call. Rodeheaver says, "There is a concern on the part of the
Christian church that an indictment will not really go deep enough because the
lead prosecutor and the head judge were taken off the case, and there's always
been a fear that this was the starting of a cover-up."

An indictment of the masterminds
behind the murders is expected on April 9 if it process true justice. The
trial hearings for the murders of the three Christians continued slowly last
year amid advances in investigations and the replacement of key personnel–a
move some think was intended to slow justice even more.

Compass Direct says while there were 20 suspects arrested in
connection to last year's investigation connecting Ergenekon and Malatya, only seven of them are still in custody–five of whom are in the
military. Their report goes on to say
evidence garnered from a CD which surfaced was enough to connect the country's agenda, the Malatya murders, and
fees for the slayings.

IN Network doesn't have a direct link to the case, but what
effects one part of the body affects them all, says Rodeheaver. "If I had any message for the Christian community
around the world, it would be to pray that this case would actually do what it
was really intended to do — and that would be to find those who were guilty of
these crimes."

IN Network faces both the scrutiny of terrorist groups and
the threat of violence. These can be very distracting, Rodeheaver admits. "There
have been some spikes in some places trying to intimidate Christians: threats, assassination
plots, things like that. But this is a pretty normal lifestyle for the Christians
who live in this kind of environment."

Last December, an Al Qaeda plot targeting churches came to light. At
the same time, Ergenekon threatened to assassinate IN Network's country
director.

While the incidents are unnerving, they won't stop the outreach. Church
Planting and Evangelism are carried out by a small church that was planted in
Istanbul, through personal visits, discipling church members, and building them
up in their faith.

The I.N. Network in Turkey also works with Internet Evangelism —
a "door-opening" forum to chat with those who do not know Christ. A new constitution is in the works, so there
is some hope for believers, especially with the advocacy that's come into play
with the Greek Prelate.

Turkey is poised for change, notes Rodeheaver. "Anything
that changes in Turkey will change because the people of God are praying. Turkey
is a very pivotal place in terms of assisting the Christian church to be the
church all over the world."

April 18 marked four years since the brutal murders of three
Christian missionaries in the bookstore they ran.  

Delay after delay slowed the process until the case appeared
to have stalled out. Then, on March 23,
police arrested 27 people in six days for their connections to Ergenekon and
the Malatya slayings. Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network
says, "I think there was a lot of hope on the part of the plaintiff's attorneys
that with the recent movement against Ergenekon and the arrest of 20 people, they
were hoping that would really lead to a possible merger of the case in Malatya
and the case against Ergenekon."

Subsequent investigation linked the Ergenekon (Deep State)
to the slayings in such a way that they began to look like an ordered "hit" from the highest levels of government.

Now, word is that the prosecutor who has overseen the
investigation into Ergenekon from the beginning is no longer on the case. Zekeriya Oz has apparently been promoted to
deputy chief prosecutor of Istanbul. He
joins three other prosecutors digging for the truth who were removed from the
investigation. Rodeheaver says, "Since
there've been all of these changes in the makeup of the people who are taking
the lead in some of these investigations, it's unfortunate and will probably
lead to more delays."

These events are disappointing to the Christians in Turkey. The seeming lack of energy with which this
case has been pursued also sends a message to believers that not only are they
second-class citizens, but that the government may not protect them from the
nationalists. "All of these things tend
to create emotional insecurity. When you see these things
happen over and over again, it's just human to be concerned."

However, says Rodeheaver, from what he's seen of the
national Church, "If you're a Christian, you really need to trust in the sovereignty
of God and know that your days really need to be ordered by your Savior."

IN Network has church planting and evangelism work in
Turkey. Staff uses the
Internet to help those who are interested in Christianity. Some people
like to have a personal relationship and to meet with the staff. Some others
ask for New Testaments. Internet ministry is an effective method to reach
people in this country.

IN Network also wants to reach Christian children to train
them in Christian ethics. The children attend Islamic classes in their schools.
Two week summer camps for Christian children between 7-14 years of age are
organized and every summer around 80-100 children attend the camp. Children
from 15-20 different churches attend the activities. 

Pray for the believers who are engaged in outreach. "As I've talked to our staff and
to other people, one of the amazing things for me is that they have those feelings,
but those feelings really are overridden by their great faith. They're
willing to sacrifice and to pay the price to serve Christ in this country
[Turkey]."

On Friday, a judge is expected to decide if he'll combine
this case with another uncovering a plot to destabilize the Turkish
government. On Saturday, a verdict could
be announced in the trial dealing with the vicious murders in 2007. 

Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network says there are two hopes: one
is for justice, and the other is for truth. "The Christians really hope that this case will be put to rest. By that,
they mean the sentencing of these five individuals. But they also are praying
that this case will influence some of the other things that are
happening." 

Turkish Christians Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and German
Christian Tilmann Geske, worked at a publishing house that distributed
Christian material in this southeastern Turkish city. They were found brutally murdered three years
ago.

As the case began to wrap up, a hearing on April 21 brought
new evidence to light that indicated the perpetrators may not have been acting
on their own accord. According to
Compass Direct News, prosecuting lawyers asked the judge to join the Malatya murder
case to a plot called the "Cage Plan."

The Cage Plan is thought to be part of a "deep state"
operation to destabilize the government. Lawyers presented evidence that corroborated a plan led by retired
generals, politicians and other key figures.
More disconcerting, the evidence indicated this plan also targeted Turkey's
Christian minority leaders,  as well as some
of their children. Hearings for the Cage
Plan are expected to begin on June 15.

At the moment, it seems things are in limbo. However, there's a "silver lining" from the scrutiny. Rodeheaver explains, "This case served
to bring about the reality that the evangelical church is a legitimate entity
and that it is not the cult that it was made out to be." 

IN Network has programs in church planting and evangelism
carried out by a small church in Istanbul. Through personal visits, discipling
church members, and building them up in their faith, Rodeheaver says the Gospel
is making advances. He says, "The best way to evangelize in a
country like Turkey is to build relationships with your Muslim neighbors, to
build the kind of trust where you can have those conversations."

Two Turkish Christians, Necati
Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and a German, Tilmann Geske, were tied up and stabbed to
death at the Zirve Publishing Co. offices on April 18, 2007.

The next hearing for
the trial is scheduled for April 13, four days before the second anniversary of
the murders.

The identities of the middlemen
linking the attackers and the alleged masterminds in the murder of the three
Christians in Malatya, Turkey are expected to take clearer focus.

According to Compass Direct, plaintiff
attorneys have called in a heavy slate of witnesses for the next hearing,
ranging from a gendarmerie commander to an Islamic theology instructor at a
nearby university. Mehmet Ulger, the former gendarmerie commander of the
province, and Ruhi Abat, a theology instructor at the local Inonu University,
are among the 10 people expected to testify at the April 13 hearing.

What's been uncovered so far
reveals a deep mistrust Christians in Turkey. The number of Christian believers declined from 22% to
only .2% between 1900 and 2000, and most of these Christians are non-Turkish. The other 99.8% of the Turkish population is Muslim. Very few have
ever heard the Gospel.

Behnan Konutgan with IN Network says
that "identity mistrust" has been a challenge in their ministry.  

There's a saying that goes: "To
be a Turk is to be Muslim; to be Muslim is to be a Turk." Konutgan says often, when they're doing
Christian work, they are asked, "Where are you from?" He often gets an incredulous response when he
tells the person, "I am from here. I am Turkish.'" Their response: "You can't be! You're a Christian." It's a cultural assumption, along with the
assumption that Christianity is a Western religion.

The problem is that many Turks
get their idea of Christianity from Hollywood. With that misconception to confront, Konutgan
says their team of four have to work carefully.

Church Planting and Evangelism
are carried out by a small church that was planted in Istanbul, through
personal visits, discipling church members and building them up in their faith.

The I.N. Network in Turkey also
works with Internet Evangelism — a "door-opening" forum to chat with
those who do not know Christ, sharing with them the truth of the good news of
Jesus. "We have a community center,"
says Konutgan," and through this community center, we want to reach our
people. The community center becomes like an 'embassy' to the people around. We
have a library there, and if anyone wants to have a discussion about the
Gospel, or Christianity, welcome. They come, and we start a
relationship." 

Those who express a deeper
interest are invited to seminars and sent other literature for personal study.

Today, the small Church in Turkey is ready to
release a limited number of its members to become involved in a full-time
ministry.

While evangelism is not
specifically forbidden, many view it with suspicion.  "Pray for the protection of the
Christian family, the protection of our children in schools, and the
breakdown of the anti-Christian spirit in Turkey." 

Their ministry team is hoping to
have 10,000 believers and local churches in 50 provinces
by 2010, as well as a team of Turkish evangelists trained and sent to
other countries with Turkish populations.

Evidence in recent hearings suggests the April 2007 murders in southeast Turkey were instigated by Ergenekon, a loose collection of ultra-nationalist generals, businessmen, mafia and journalists who planned to engineer a coup d'état in Turkey.

At a hearing at Malatya's Third Criminal Court on Friday (Jan. 16), plaintiff attorneys said they would like to call as a witness Ergun Poyraz, a journalist arrested in 2007 who has been linked to Ergenekon. Prosecuting attorneys said they believe that Poyraz, who has written inflammatory rhetoric against missionaries and accused Turkey's prime minister of being part of a Zionist conspiracy, was not directly involved in planning the murders but has important knowledge of the players within Ergenekon.

The lawyers said they hope his testimony will help sort out the tangled web of connections and determine the role of Malatya security forces in the attack, particularly that of the chief of police in the district, Ali Osman Kahya.

"In the course of the publishing house murders, Ali Osman Kahya was the head of Malatya security forces, which is no coincidence," said plaintiff attorney Murat Dincer. He said Kahya had been in similar positions of authority during other political murders.

Other lawyers involved in the case said they are less hopeful, believing Poyraz will only use his testimony as a platform for political grandstanding and propaganda for the political conspiracy. "I don't believe he will be helpful," one legal worker told Compass. "I think he will only put on a show and manipulate the subject."

Poyraz was arrested in 2007 for having connections to the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces, a group whose members include military men also indicted in Ergenekon. Turkish media recently revealed that Poyraz had been keeping detailed records on high-level military officials prior to his arrest, according to Today's Zaman national daily.

The team of plaintiff lawyers has requested Poyraz's written statements from the Istanbul 13th Criminal Court.

The court in Malatya has sent an informal inquiry to the prosecutor of the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul asking if there is a concrete connection between the Ergenekon case and the Malatya murders. If the prosecutor replies positively, the Malatya court will decide whether to integrate the murder trial with the Ergenekon case.

If the cases are not integrated, then the five young suspects will likely be tried for murder in a matter of months, and all will receive life sentences, said Orhan Kemal Cengiz, who leads the team of plaintiff lawyers representing the interests of the victims' families. Lawyers said they believe establishing the guilt of the suspects should be a straightforward process, but Cengiz said that if the case is integrated into Ergenekon, "then it will continue forever."

Two Turkish Christians, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and a German, Tilmann Geske, were brutally tortured and killed at a publishing house in Malatya on April 18, 2007.

Emre Gunaydin — the suspected ringleader — along with Salih Gürler, Cuma Ozdemir, Hamit Ceker and Abuzer Yildirim, who have been in jail for the past 18 months, are accused of the murder. They were all between 19 and 21-years-old at the time of the crime.

The Malatya trial judges and defense attorneys are also adjusting their legal proceedings in light of the case's incipient expansion from a murder case to an investigation into the political conspiracy. Noting that there could have been others involved in the murder, Presiding Judge Eray Gurktekin quoted an article from the Turkish Penal Code that states a punishment can be reduced if the guilty party is found to be solicited for the crime.

"You should think about considering this," he said to defense lawyers.

The lawyer for Gunaydin said he had reminded his client of this article and that they wanted to pursue this legal line in the next hearing.

Plaintiff attorneys won a minor legal victory that had eluded them in earlier hearings: the hearings will now be recorded. In previous months, Malatya judges refused three plaintiff requests to record the trial hearings.

In February 2008 an Istanbul court allowed the first courtroom taping of a trial hearing at the trial of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in 2007.

Earlier this month, Turkish police uncovered major arms caches by excavating sites connected to Ergenekon members. Security forces believe the weapons indicated the future plans of the group and their violent activates in the past.

Two weeks ago a new wave of detentions revealed evidence that the group was planning to assassinate the prime minister, members of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and Armenian community leaders.

Older Ergenekon documents make mention of church members in Turkey in Izmir, Mersin and Trabzon. Members of those churches were attacked or killed in following years. This month a 19-year-old Muslim in Izmir was sentenced to prison for stabbing a Catholic priest in 2007.

The Ergenekon organization has been blamed for the murder of other high-profile Christians. Ergin Cinmen, the lawyer for the family of Dink, has called for an investigation into the links between Ergenekon, the Malatya massacre and the murders of Dink and Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian priest killed in Trabzon in 2006.

He made these comments in the context of recently-discovered plans to attack the Armenian community of Sivas in central Turkey, according to Bianet, an online Turkish news service.

In the last year, police have arrested more than 100 people in the ongoing Ergenekon case, which has been the dominant event in Turkish media for several months.

So while the government may claim ignorance, Open Doors'
Carl Moeller says, "If they're watching such a tiny group of Christians so
carefully, it's impossible that they would not also be aware  of clandestine ultra-nationalists or
terrorists wanting to attack them. So
even though terrorist groups may be carrying out these attacks, it is with the
knowledge that the government possesses, that the government is not intervening
and protecting Christians." 

On April 18, 2007, Tilmann Ekkehart Geske of Germany, and Turkish citizens Necati Aydin
and Ugur Yuksel were slaughtered at the Zirve Publications building in Malatya
where they worked.  

According to a report from Compass Direct, testimony from Monday's proceedings corroborates
a letter e-mailed to Turkish Protestant church leaders naming the men behind
the savage murders.

The five suspects are implicating another person, blaming each other, and facing new charges.  However, the repercussion beyond the trial
could stifle ministry. 

While the Turkish constitution includes freedom of
religion, worship services are only permitted in "buildings created for this
purpose." And officials have restricted the construction of buildings for
minority religions. More than that, there
is a convention of the land that to be Turkish is to be Muslim, and to be
Muslim is to be Turkish. 

Mission groups have indicated that they are viewed with
suspicion and their actions are viewed as an affront. That can also create an aggressive response against those thought to be
a threat against Turkey.   

Moeller explains, "It is typical of persecution to attack
the heart. If you can create fear and you can create a 'chilling effect' on
evangelical witness, you're going to hurt the progress of the church and the
growth of the church. So Open Doors is
continuing to encourage the believers there on the ground."

Please pray for the slain men's families. Two widows, five young children and a fiancée
survive them. Pray, too, for
opportunities for Christians in Turkey to share the truth of who Jesus is with
those around them.