Photo: Bla Bla, via compassdirect.org

Hearings continue for believers accused of 'insulting Turkishness'

Hearings will continue in the case of two Christians accused of "insulting Turkishness," reports MNN.

Compass Direct News says 41-year-old Hakan Tastan and 50-year-old Turan Topal still face charges, but a judge delayed the case until October 14.

Although the prosecution has not yet provided evidence of the charges, the pair is accused of "insulting Turkishness" through their evangelizing in 2006.

In a minor victory, CDN reported earlier that a judge ordered the review due to the Turkish Parliament's amendment of article 301 of the Penal Code, which changed the wording from "insulting Turkishness" to "insulting the Turkish nation" and required that permission be obtained from the Ministry of Justice for someone to be charged under the article.

However, they did not change any of the other charges against the pair, which include reviling Islam and compiling information files on private citizens. Also during the June 24 hearing, according to Voice of the Martyrs Canada, both teenage witnesses for the prosecution testified that they had neither met nor seen Tastan or Topal prior to court, contradicting the prosecution's claim that they had been given literature and invited to church by the Christians.

After becoming Christians over 15 years ago, Tastan and Topal officially changed their religious identity from Muslim to Christian on their official ID cards. While the Turkish constitution includes freedom of religion, it is not unusual for Christians to face difficulties in the process of changing their religious designation on their identification cards.

Tastan and Topal would like to see the trial conclude by the end of the year.

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TAGS: Turkey "insulting Turkishness" case Hakan Tastan Turan Topal evangelism persecution

[06/07/2010]

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