Saturday, June 14, 2008

Church ordered to shut down in Turkey


Church ordered to shut down in Turkey (OneNewsNow.com)
A church in Turkey's capitol city of Ankara is facing more legal persecution from the government.



The Batikent Protestant Church has been served notice that it will have to shut down soon -- which presents an odd set of circumstances. Jeremy Sewell, a policy analyst for International Christian Concern, says the church has already fought many legal battles to exist.

"The church has won this right by fighting approximately 15 different court cases, many of which have gone to the Supreme Court of Turkey over the past six years," he conveys.

Yet the latest lawsuit involves the same issues. Turkey's government is secular, and there is a constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. Sewell says it is shocking that the Turkish government "... [w]ould be so blatant in their violation of religious freedom when the courts have already ruled that this church is legal and can stay open."

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