Turkey faces accusations for expelling hundreds of peaceful Christians under the guise of “national security,” with reports indicating that dozens were expelled last year alone. Critics, including legal advocates, have labeled this a direct assault on religious freedom.
Lydia Rieder, an expert from Alliance Defending Freedom International, addressed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Monday, stating that Turkey is systematically targeting Christians simply “for practicing their faith.” She emphasized that classifying a peaceful Christian community as a “security threat” is a blatant misuse of the law, undermining both religious freedom and the rule of law, which the OSCE aims to protect.
Since 2020, around 350 foreign Christian workers and their families have been expelled from Turkey, according to ADF, with at least 35 cases reported between late 2024 and early 2025. Turkey’s interior ministry uses specific “security codes” to label individuals as threats, thereby prohibiting their return to the country.
Rieder highlighted a significant ongoing case, Wiest v. Turkey, currently before the European Court of Human Rights, which she believes could set crucial precedents for safeguarding religious freedom in Europe and elsewhere. Kenneth Wiest, a U.S. citizen and Protestant who lived in Turkey for over 30 years, was denied entry in 2019 without any evidence of wrongdoing.
His case seems to be part of a pattern of increasing discrimination against religious minorities since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rise to power. Interestingly, Rieder noted that during the OSCE conference, the Turkish delegation acknowledged a rise in discrimination against Christians, a statement she found striking.
Rieder pointed out that while Turkey claims to promote tolerance, many communities within its borders still face restrictions on their ability to worship freely. “Turkey’s call to listen to the voices of victims should lead to real action,” she added.
In response, the Turkish embassy in Washington pointed to a recent statement from the Turkish government’s Counter-Disinformation Communications Center, which denied the allegations, labeling them as baseless disinformation. The government asserts it is committed to protecting places of worship and maintains that administrative decisions regarding foreign nationals have been made for various reasons, such as visa issues, rather than religious identity.
They emphasized the importance of respect for faith and pluralism in their democratic framework, although they did not directly address Wiest’s situation.
Ultimately, Rieder made it clear that genuine religious freedom cannot exist if practitioners face expulsion threats for their beliefs. The OSCE and its members must not only verbalize their commitments to tolerance and non-discrimination but also act on them. There has been no immediate response from the OSCE regarding measures to tackle the growing religious persecution in Turkey.
