Christians offered work as spies, informants by persons claiming to be 'Turkish intelligence'

Protestant Christians in Turkey have been offered work as spies and informants in 2020, a recent report by the T24 news portal revealed. Christians in the east and southeast reportedly received more of these offers to inform on congregation members and churches.

Wednesday February 24 2021 01:49 pm

Duvar English

Christians living in Turkey have been offered employment as spies and state informants in 2020, a report by Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches revealed, news portal T24 reported on Feb. 23.

"Local and migrant Christians, especially in the east and southeast, were offered work as spies/informants about certain persons and churches by individuals who said they were intelligence officers," the report said.

Protestant churches are public institutions that adhere to international law and transparency guidelines, the report noted, adding that "suspicious and opaque attempts" such as the spying offers were alarming and concerning.

Protestant Christians in Turkey also suffer from discrimination, with more than 100 foreign protestants being denied entry into the country, leaving key posts in the churches vacant, the report said.

"In some of these cases, the petitioners were accused of jeopardizing Turkey's national interest and being missionaries, and their attendance to our foundation's events was presented as criminal evidence," the report said.

Protestant Christians in Turkey have also suffered from a lack of spaces available for their worship, and the state's restrictions within COVID-19 precautions sanctioned Christian worship more heavily than Muslim, the report added.