By Uzay Bulut, European Conservative. (Image: Istanbul Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church, Wikimedia Creative Commons)
Turkey’s government continues its systematic policy of plundering the properties of Greek Orthodox religious foundations and interfering in their organizations. Two cases currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) are glaring illustrations of these practices.
In one case, the plaintiffs are two foundations of the Greek Orthodox community established in 1834. The foundations seek restitution for certain immovable properties that belonged to them. These properties were listed in their 1936 declaration and if they cannot be returned, the foundations are alternatively seeking compensation corresponding to their value. However, the Directorate General of Foundations, a Turkish public institution under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, refuses to comply.
Those two foundations are not the only Christian properties seized by the Turkish government. Thousands of Christian properties have been confiscated throughout the past decades and transferred to either the Public Treasury or the General Directorate of Foundations.
When the Turkish government refuses to recognize a Christian foundation’s ownership of a property, their assets are often formally transferred to the state or other public institutions. The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) said in a comment:
Even worse, these properties can de facto be seized by various mafia-linked enterprises, particularly in the parking and real estate sectors, seeking easy profits.
The Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople is subject to severe discrimination and administrative restrictions. The closure of Halki Seminary, the main Orthodox Christian theological school, in 1971 continues to prevent the training of new priests in Turkey.
Meanwhile, a separate case involving violations by Turkey of the human rights of two Greek Orthodox Christian priests, Niko Mavrakis and Corç Kasapoğlu, is currently before the ECHR.