TURKEY

ANKWAWA, Iraq / MARDIN, Turkey – The Iraqi-based Syriac political party Bnay Bethnahrain calls on the Turkish authorities to immediately annul the verdict of the court in Mardin in the case against Syriac Orthodox monk Sefer “Aho” Bilecen. In a press statement published on its website, the party states: “We…

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Member of Parliament for the political party Forum voor Democratie (FvD) Simone Kerseboom has asked questions in the Dutch parliament about the trial and the conviction of Syriac Orthodox monk Sefer “Aho” Bilecen. This week, monk Aho was sentenced by a Turkish court to 2 years…

ZALIN, Syria — Co-Chair of the Syriac Union Party Nazira Goreya told SuroyoTV on Thursday that the conviction of monk “Aho” Sefer Bileçen is a part of a wider policy of repression by the Turkish government to push the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people out of their native lands in Tur Abdin…

BRUSSELS — The European Syriac Union (ESU) issued a statement denouncing the sentencing of Syriac Orthodox monk Sefer (Aho) Bileçen of the Mor Yahqup d-Qarne Monastery to two years and one month in prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization”. Monk Aho was arrested on 9 January 2020…

Sign the Petition: Rahip Aho’ya (Sefer Bilecen) Özgürlük!!! Hirutho L Abun Dayroyo Aho!!! #FreeFatherAho #FreeFatherAho #DayroyoAholetyobilhude #HiruthodayroyoAho #RahipAhoiçinadalet #FreiheitfürMönchAho!

BRUSSELS — In a statement following her meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the Commission will soon present a proposal to Turkey to ensure the flow of funding to refugees, noting that Ankara’s commitment to the 2016 refugee…

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on the Turkish Defense Agency and four of its officials in response to Ankara’s refusal to give up its Russian-made S-400 air defense system, according to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, on a recommendation published in the U.S. Federal Register.…

MERDO (MARDIN) / TUR ABDIN, southeast Turkey — Syriac Orthodox monk Sefer (Aho) Bileçen of the Mor Yahqup d-Qarne Monastery has been sentenced by a Turkish court to two years and one month in prison. Monk Aho was arrested on 9 January 2020 on charges of “membership of a terrorist…

BRUSSELS — Due to the human rights violations of the Turkish government against its own people, members of the European Parliament signed a letter addressed to the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell calling for severe sanctions against Turkey. One of the signatories, the socialist representative Kostas Mavridis told…

ANKARA — Confidential documents obtained by the Nordic Monitor reveal that the Turkish government has secretly blacklisted 138,000 pre-university students, because they were enrolled in schools owned and run by groups opposed to the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Turkish Ministry of Education prepared a database that…