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Turkey “weaponizes” law to block Protestant missionaries from entry

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – According to a report by the International Christian Concern non-profit organization, Turkey’s government has been blocking Protestant missionaries from entering the country by “weaponizing” Turkish entry laws against Christians.

Turkey ranks 41st on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted: the government considers its small Christian minority population to pose a threat to Turkish culture.

Turkey’s N82 restriction codes require foreign nationals to have prior approval from the government before entering the country, “acting as de facto entry bans since the government rejects most visa applicants,” ICC said in its reports. The country also has G87 codes which are security designations that require the restriction of entry or deportation of “Foreigners who pose a risk to general safety.”

Turkey has increasingly expelled foreigners, causing the International Society for Human Rights to report that: “There is no common ground among these expelled persons, except that they are all Protestant Christians, who are active in church life and/or active in evangelism. Expulsion of missionary believers is illegal. The accusations that those affected are threats to public safety are ridiculous and outrageous.”

ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East and North Africa, Joseph Daniel, said in a separate statement about the situation for Christians in Turkey: “In the current religious climate, government leaders, the education system, and the general society all push the narrative that to be Turkish is to be Muslim. Any Turk who decides to leave Islam and become a Christian is seen as a traitor and a threat to national unity and security.”