In the summary section of the report, it was stated that numerous church leaders, who are foreign nationals, were deported, denied entry to the country, and had their residence permits not renewed. 10 hate crimes targeting the Protestant community in 2025 were included in the report. According to the report, these crimes were committed in Istanbul, Ankara, Kayseri, Iğdır, Kars, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, and Manisa.
The following details regarding an incident in Kars were shared in the report:
“In Kars, the 8-year-old child of one of our Christian families declared to their neighborhood friends that they were Christian while chatting about religion. The conversation somehow carried over to school, and when our child became uncomfortable with the chat and behavior of their friends, he wanted to walk away. However, a group of four, which included children from upper classes, assaulted the child while shouting “God exists.” Afterwards, they made statements like “You eat pork.” Due to the embarrassment of the school officials and the families of the students who committed the assault, the family desisted from filing a formal complaint.”
According to the report, the Association of Protestant Churches continues to experience problems regarding places of worship. Stating that different churches could not obtain place of worship status in their applications, the association drew attention to the following details:
-The number of communities worshiping in a rented venue is 115.
-The number of communities worshiping by using their own homes as meeting places is 32.
Code application for foreign clergy continues
Protestant clergy cannot be trained in Turkey due to various reasons. Having no access to an institutional education opportunity within Turkey's national education system to train its own clergy, the Protestant community continues to train a significant portion of its clergy within its own body through the traditional master-apprentice method. According to the report, although there has been a visible increase in the number of local Protestant clergy in recent years, there are not enough local clergy to fully meet current needs. Therefore, spiritual leadership in churches is carried out by clergy carrying foreign passports. However, the application of N-82 and G-87 restriction codes for foreign clergy continues. The codes are issued by the Presidency of Migration Management under the Ministry of Interior. The report stated that in 2025, cases of deportation, denial of entry to Turkey, and non-issuance of residence permits or visas for foreign national clergy and community members continued to occur. Accordingly, in 2025, 46 clergy with foreign passports had to leave Turkey due to situations such as being denied residence permits or non-renewal of their visas. In 2024, this number was 21. In 2025, the number of people who left Turkey together with their families was announced as 77. The association stated that legal processes continue for clergy who received N-82 and G-87 codes.
Residence permit denied to Tilman Geske's daughter
In the report, the information regarding the rejection of the residence permit of Michal Geske, daughter of Pastor Tilmann Geske, who was one of those killed in the Zirve Massacre that took place in Malatya in 2007, was included with the following statements:
“In June, the long-term residence application of Michal Geske, the daughter of our brother Tilmann Geske, who was massacred in the 2007 Malatya Zirve Publishing House massacre, was rejected, her student residence permit was canceled, and she was asked to leave the country within 10 days. Although this is not an N82 case, this incident has deeply wounded the Protestant community of Turkey.”
The association also stated that hate speech against Protestants continues on social media. The following statements were included in the recommendations section of the report: “The practice of forcing foreign national members of the Protestant community to leave our country by issuing codes or not renewing their residency must be abolished. This situation, to which people are subjected solely due to their religious beliefs without any allegation of crime, must be ended. The path for Christians to establish places of worship must also be cleared. Municipalities, the Ministry of Culture, the General Directorate of Foundations, and other official institutions should open the church buildings in their possession, which are used for purposes other than their original intent, to the use of church congregations, at least on Sundays and/or religious holidays. The Ministry of National Education, considering the social pressure and stigmatization that Christian families and children are exposed to and the risk it brings about, is expected to protect the rights of non-Muslim students in schools and classrooms and regularly inform schools about exemptions without waiting for complaints. The mandatory status of the course of Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge should be abolished, and individuals should be freed from the obligation to declare their faith.”
