Hundreds of foreign Christians who once served local churches in Turkey have been quietly pushed out, flagged as “national threats” despite spotless records and peaceful presence, as The Christian Post reports.

Since 2020, Turkey has deported or refused entry to at least 200 Christian workers and their families — roughly 350 people — through a bureaucratic black box of security labels that neither explains nor justifies their expulsion.

These foreigners, many of whom lived in Turkey for decades, were hit with internal codes N-82 and G-87 by the Turkish Ministry of Interior — tools used to deny re-entry or permits despite no criminal charges or due process.

Evangelicals Targeted Without Evidence Of Crime

Religious freedom advocates say the sweeping crackdown is hammering Protestant churches in Turkey, which often rely on international pastors and missionaries to sustain their ministries.

“Such designations are issued through internal security codes and have left local Protestant communities without leadership,” said Lidia Rieder, Legal Officer for ADF International, a human rights group managing dozens of the affected Christians’ legal challenges.

The group says it is backing more than 30 legal cases, both in Turkish courts and at the European Court of Human Rights, all tied to foreign believers barred without evidence of wrongdoing.

Court Ruling Fuels Media Frenzy, Threats

The pressure intensified in June 2024, when the Constitutional Court denied the appeal of nine foreign Christians trying to remove the N-82 security stamp blocking their return.

Instead of protecting their anonymity, the court publicly released their names, leading Turkish media outlets to brand them “missionaries” and “enemies of the state.”

The result was a storm of online abuse, with social media users making death threats and claiming religious duty justified violence, according to reports from ADF International.

Christian Institutions Shut Down Or Blocked

Within six weeks of that ruling, 35 more people — many residents for decades — were slapped with fresh security codes, further eroding the Christian presence inside the country.

Between closed seminaries, blocked religious education, and now the expulsion of experienced clergy, churches are being cornered legally and institutionally.

Foreign Christian workers from the U.S., U.K., Germany, South Korea, Latin America, and across Europe have all been caught in the dragnet.

Daily Worship Life Under Strain In Local Churches

The crackdown has had a chilling effect on day-to-day worship. Churches in cities like Kayseri, Bahçelievler and İzmir were vandalized or threatened in 2024, some suffering physical damage.

Permit applications for distributing brochures were rejected, and invitations for holiday events like Easter and Christmas were blocked without explanation.

At the same time, local Protestant communities in places like Bursa lost access to their worship spaces entirely, making organized faith nearly impossible in public.

Harassment At Work And Bullets In The Walls

The attacks have not been limited to dignified church buildings. In Çekmeköy, gunshots were fired at the Salvation Church association building in December 2024 while someone tried removing the signage altogether.

That same month, a Christian English teacher in Malatya was dismissed from her job with no clear reason. Her administrator reportedly warned her about her foreign friends — a subtle message with a not-so-subtle edge.

Her appeal was denied, and fearing government retaliation against her sister, a civil servant, she chose not to file suit.

Police Fail To Investigate Attacks On Churches

On January 20, 2024, gunfire hit the Eskişehir Salvation Church when the building was empty. Though bullets also struck a nearby dentist’s office, police didn’t collect any evidence or even file a report.

The message from the authorities seems less about keeping peace and more about turning a blind eye when the target isn’t politically convenient.

Local Christians say hate speech and physical threats have hit alarming levels, with pastors receiving routine insults and violent rhetoric online.

Religious Freedom Claims Hollow Without Protection

This comes despite Turkey’s constitutional promises of religious freedom, which seem to crumble when faith doesn’t align with official orthodoxy.

Institutions like the Halki Seminary remain shuttered, Bible education is legally prohibited, while state support rolls in abundantly for Islamic training centers.

When it comes to Christian teaching, the double standard couldn’t be more obvious — public restriction paired with private harassment.

The Legal Battle Beyond Borders Begins

One leading test case, Wiest v. Türkiye, now sits before the European Court of Human Rights. It involves an American citizen who lived in Turkey for more than 30 years before being denied re-entry without a single word of explanation.

More such cases are expected, as Turkey increasingly relies on opaque code systems to sideline Christians whose only offense is religious activity outside approved channels.

“ADF International said it alone is supporting over 30 related legal challenges in Turkish and European courts,” underscoring how widespread — and bureaucratic — the persecution has become.

Turkey Must Choose Between Liberty And Intimidation

If the Turkish state believes Christianity is a threat to internal security, perhaps the strongest weapon in the Christian’s hand — a Bible — says more about the state’s fragility than the faith’s danger.

Labeling peaceful missionaries “enemies” and broadcasting their names for mob justice crosses a political line into moral decline.

Every nation has a right to maintain its borders, but squashing religious liberty through proxy codes and silent expulsions is the hallmark of authoritarian drift, not democratic order.