Displaying items by tag: Turkey

Thursday, 08 November 2018 23:07

Saudi officials tried to remove evidence

Members of a Saudi Arabian team sent to help Turkish authorities investigate the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi worked instead to remove evidence. A Turkish government spokesman said that two members of the team ‘came for the sole purpose of covering up evidence’ before Turkish police were allowed to search the Saudi consulate, where Khashoggi was killed on 2 October. The fact that a clean-up team was dispatched suggests that his killing ‘was within the knowledge of top Saudi officials’. The information was the latest in a series of leaks from Turkish officials apparently aimed at keeping up the pressure on Saudi Arabia and ensuring that the killing is not covered up. Khashoggi, who lived in exile in the United States, was strangled immediately after he entered the consulate, and his body was dismembered before being removed.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 19 October 2018 00:43

Andrew Brunson freed

American pastor Andrew Brunson has been released after being detained in Turkey for two years. President Trump has already met Brunson, who had been charged with helping to plot a coup against President Erdogan and sentenced to 37 months in prison. The Turkish authorities chose to release him based on his time already served, as well as his manner during the proceedings. Prosecutors had been demanding a ten-year jail term. The case had soured relations between Turkey and the US, heightened by Trump's desire to support Brunson and emphasise the importance of religious freedom. Erdogan’s office denied that any deal with the US had taken place, and criticised Trump for tweeting that he had been ‘working very hard for Pastor Brunson’ and his release.

Published in Praise Reports
Friday, 21 September 2018 09:27

Syria: war update

Several deals have been struck across Syria over the years of the civil war, but few have made significant differences. Pray that the agreement between Russia and Turkey to create a military buffer zone in Syria's Idlib holds fast and is successful in preventing further deaths as Syria’s last remaining opposition stronghold is included in a demilitarised zone. Turkey's foreign minister declared that only terrorist groups, not civilians, will be removed from Idlib province under the deal. EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic stressed that the Turkish-Russian deal must protect civilians.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 06 September 2018 23:40

Syria: options for Idlib

The future of Syria is being debated between Iran, Russia and Turkey. Prominent on the agenda at a leaders’ meeting in Tehran on 7 Sept is Idlib, the remaining rebel-held province in Syria (population 1.5 million). Turkey, fearing a mass exodus of civilians towards its border, is trying to ensure the offensive will be as limited as possible. Most believe there are three scenarios. First, Turkey and Russia could agree to uphold the Idlib de-escalation zone if Turkey deals with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and persuades them to relocate elsewhere. This could avert a Russian attack on Idlib as long as a lasting peace is achieved in Syria. The second scenario would allow for a limited Russian-led military action in Idlib against HTS.  Given the high population density, Russia and Syria seem to be trying to avoid massive military attacks. The most feared scenario is Iran’s preference - an all-out offensive against Idlib. See

Published in Worldwide

The Turkish currency is in freefall after President Trump escalated a feud with Ankara by doubling tariffs on metals imports. The lira has long been falling due to worries about President Erdogan's influence over monetary policy and worsening US relations. Turkey and the USA are at odds over many issues, the most pressing being the detention of pastor Andrew Brunson who was jailed for allegedly supporting a group that Ankara blames for the failed coup. He faces 35 years in prison, and on 15 August a court ruled he must remain under house arrest. Qatar has pledged $15 billion of investments after Erdogan said that the shadowy ‘interest rate lobby’ and Western credit ratings agencies were attempting to bring down the economy. He said, ‘If there is anyone who has dollars or gold under their pillows, they should go and exchange it for liras at our banks. This is a national, domestic battle.’ See also

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 22 June 2018 00:18

Church growth

In Algeria, friends asked for prayer after their church in Aïn Turk was closed by the local authorities. After seven months, the authorities finally reopened the church. In Turkey, Pastor Ramazan Arkan leads two congregations in Antalya, just 12 miles from where Paul and Barnabas planted a church in New Testament times. His growing church is reaching out to many young seekers in this city of two million people. Iran is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian, yet thousands of underground Iranian believers are practising their faith in secret. For those with no-one to talk to about Jesus, SAT-7’s satellite Christian broadcasting has become not just a television channel, but also a virtual pastor, church, community and friend.

Published in Praise Reports
Thursday, 14 June 2018 22:54

Turkey: critical election on 24 June

In March we prayed for Turkey to come to a turning point because President Erdogan's rise to power was returning Turkey to its Ottoman and Islamic heritage through authoritarianism, consolidation of power, increased support of radical Islam, reintroduction of Islamic cultural practices, and the dismissal of thousands of government workers, military, and journalists. Erdogan is a ruler trying to maintain the facade of democratic legitimacy by calling an election which he will probably win. It will bring in a new presidential system that drastically increases the powers of the president, while reducing the role of the parliament. Erdogan's Turkish nationalism stifles freedom of expression. Christian believers are treated as traitors to both Islam and the Turkish identity. Under the existing martial law, Erdogan has purged Turkey of political opponents and dissenters and has jailed many journalists. Pray for public sentiment to recognise the importance of religious and other freedoms. (Joshua 24:22)

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:45

Turkey: pastor facing 35-year sentence

16 April was pastor Andrew Brunson’s first day in court answering espionage charges. He pastors a small Protestant church, and is accused of supporting the attempted 2016 coup to overthrow president Erdogan by aligning himself with terrorist organisations. If convicted, the 50-year-old faces 35 years in prison. ‘I was never involved in any illegal activities,’ the American Pastor told the court in Turkish, the language he speaks fluently after 23 years in the country. After the hearing, instead of being returned to the prison he had recently been held in, he was taken to an overcrowded, extremely grim prison. The USA said prosecutors have no case against the pastor. He is accused of ‘the supposed crime of Christianisation’. Brunson’s Turkish lawyer told Reuters that prosecutors interpret the pastor’s religious work as ‘aiding terror organisations; there is evidence revealing that he was arrested due to his faith.’

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 30 March 2018 00:24

Turkey: a turning point

Turkey was a secular country, but since President Erdogan's rise to power it is returning to its Ottoman and Islamic heritage. This shift is manifesting through authoritarianism, consolidation of power, increased support of radical Islam, reintroduction of Islamic cultural practices, the threatening of long-held borders, and the dismissal of thousands of government workers, military, and journalists. But what matters most is the 99% of 80 million people who call Turkey home but have never heard the Gospel. The early Church thrived there. Much of the New Testament took place there. For a nation so hardened to the Gospel, and resenting Christianity, prayer is the only way to bring change.

Published in Europe
Friday, 30 March 2018 00:08

Syria: Turkish action in Afrin

Turkey’s flag flew over Afrin while Turkish-led factions, including Salafi jihadi groups, were plundering the city. Images emerging from Afrin resembled a medieval army taking booty. Experts, observers and international anti-IS coalition officials expected Syrian Kurdish fighters to put up a stronger resistance to protect the land, believing Turkey’s victory would come at a greater cost. Since these fighters handed over Afrin without engaging in urban warfare, most people believe the Turkish intervention is a prelude to a wider offensive against other cities under the control of the Kurdish forces. On 20 March Erdogan vowed to expand Turkey's Syria campaign to the Kurdish-held areas up to the Iraqi border. But Syria’s government heavily criticised Turkey's ‘occupation’ of Afrin and demanded that Turkish forces withdraw.

Published in Worldwide