Country of origin information report Turkey March 2007

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18.05 On 24 June 2005 the Turkish Daily News reported that:
“The parliamentary Justice Commission decided on Thursday to pass without change two Turkish Penal Code (TCK) articles stipulating penalties for teachers and managers of unlicensed Koran courses. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer had previously vetoed the articles. The articles had been criticized for removing any possibility of those found guilty of such crimes to be imprisoned. One article reduces the sentences accorded to those who teach and manage unlicensed educational courses from between six months to three years imprisonment to between three months and one year. The new penal code allows sentences below one year to be converted into fines.” [23al]
18.06 As noted in the USSD 2006 report on religious freedom:
“According to the Government, approximately 99 percent of the population was Muslim, the majority of which was Sunni. According to the human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) Mazlum-Der and representatives of various religious minority communities, the actual percentage of Muslims was slightly lower. The Government officially recognized only three minority religious communities–Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenian Orthodox Christians, and Jews–although other non-Muslim communities existed. The level of religious observance varied throughout the country, in part due to the influence of secular traditions and official restrictions on religious expression in political and social life.” [5e] (Section I)
18.07 The USSD 2006 report on religious freedom further recorded that:
“There were several other religious groups, mostly concentrated in Istanbul and other large cities. While exact membership figures were not available, these religious groups included approximately 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians; 23,000 Jews; and fewer than 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians. The Government interpreted the 1923 Lausanne Treaty as granting special legal minority status exclusively to these three groups, although the treaty text refers broadly to ‘non-Muslim minorities’ without listing specific groups. However, this recognition did not extend to the religious leadership organs; for example, the Ecumenical and Armenian Patriarchates continued to seek recognition of their legal status. There also were approximately 10,000 Baha'is; an estimated 15,000 Syrian Orthodox (Syriac) Christians; 5,000 Yezidis; 3,300 Jehovah's Witnesses; 3,000 Protestants; and small, undetermined numbers of Bulgarian, Chaldean, Nestorian, Georgian, Roman Catholic, and Maronite Christians.” [5e] (Section I)
18.08 The European Commission 2006 report noted that:
“In April a delegation consisting of the Ministries of Interior, Education, Foreign Affairs, the EUSG and Istanbul governorate visited leaders of non-Muslim communities in Istanbul to discuss their problems and possible solutions. Although the mandatory indication of religious affiliation in some personal documents, such as ID-cards, was abolished in April 2006, such documents still include information on religion, leaving open the potential for discriminatory practices. This is an area of concern.” [71a] (p16)
18.09 The same EC 2006 report found that “Furthermore a number of other problems remain. Non-Muslim religious communities have no access to legal personality and continued to face restricted property rights. They encountered problems in the management of their foundations and in recovering property by judicial means. The June 2005 ruling by the Council of State narrowing the scope for the Directorate General for Foundations to take over the management of foundations was not applied during the reporting period. In this respect, no progress can be reported on the Büyükada Greek Girls’ and Boys’ Orphanage, whose management remains under the control of the DG foundations. The impact of the new law on foundations on the issues above will have to be assessed once it has been adopted.” [71a] (p17)
18.10 The European Commission 2006 report also noted that
“Furthermore, restrictions on the training of clergy and on foreign clergy to work in Turkey remain. Turkish legislation does not provide for private higher religious education for these communities. The Greek Orthodox Halki (Heybeliada) seminary remains closed. The public use of the ecclesiastical title of Ecumenical Patriarch is still banned. Sermons and publications of the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) and of local religious authorities occasionally appear hostile towards proselytising activities. Attacks against clergy and places of worship of non-Muslim religious Communities have been reported. The court case concerning the murder of the Catholic Priest Andrea Santoro in a church in the Black Sea region province of Trabzon in February 2006 resulted in a heavy penalty for the perpetrator. Several incidents against Syriacs also occurred.” [71a] (p16)

18.11 On 10 November 2006, Zaman Daily newspaper reported that:

“The Foundations Bill, which is a part of the EU reform package, was approved by the Turkish parliament. The main opposition People’s Republic Party (CHP) proposed putting the bill into effect after Turkey became a full member of the European Union, but the proposal was rejected. The bill allows the return confiscated properties to minority foundations and authorizes the Turkey’s Foundations General Directorate to launch inquiries about properties of Turkish foundations overseas. The directorate will handle legal procedures to help Turkish expatriates file lawsuits at the European Court of Human Rights…” [84b]