Turkey Arrests Priest Who Gave Water and Bread to Kurdish Fighters

"As men of God, priests have to comply when somebody asks for help, no matter what their religion, race, language or ideology" 

A man waves Turkey's national flag during the Democracy and Martyrs

Rally organized by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan,
November 12, 2016  (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

An Assyrian priest and two other Assyrian Christians were arrested Friday in Turkey and slapped with terror charges for allegedly offering bread and water to Kurdish militants who visited his monastery, according to reports.

Priest Sefer Bileçen of the Mor Yakup Monastery in southeast Turkey was detained last Thursday, according to the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency in addition to two other Assyrian Christians, Musa Tash Takin from Sidri and Youssef Yar from the Üçköy. They remain detained.

According to the outlet, Turkish gendarme accused the pastor of aiding and abetting the Kurdish militant outfit aligned with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, a group recognized by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.

Bileçen’s arrest reportedly came in response to testimony provided by a member of the PKK-aligned People’s Defense Forces (HPG) who claimed that Bileçen gave bread and water to HPG members when they visited the church in 2018.

Bileçen is said to be the only caretaker of the monastery located in the town of Mardin.

Evgil Türker told Mezopotamya news that the arrest of Bileçen was unnecessary and called for his release.

"As men of God, priests have to comply when somebody asks for help, no matter what their religion, race, language or ideology," Türker was quoted as saying.

Türker compared Bileçen’s case to that of American missionary Andrew Brunson. Brunson, who served for two decades as a missionary in Turkey, spent over two years in prison in Izmir after he was accused of supporting Kurdish fighters and the Gülen movement, charges that Brunson claimed were false.

"We may not have a [U.S. President Donald] Trump of our own, but Turkey will have a second case of pastor Brunson," Türker was quoted as saying.
Reports of Bileçen’s arrest drew the ire of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a congressionally mandated panel of independent experts who advise the White House, Congress and the State Department on Religious Freedom issues.

“USCIRF is concerned by initial reports that authorities have detained Father Sefer ‘Aho’ Bileçen, priest of the Mor Yakup Church in Nusaybin, #Turkey, and two other members of the small Syriac Orthodox community for unclear reasons,” a tweet from the commission reads.

The Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights reports that the priest and the two Christians were taken to an Üçköys village police station and then sent to Mardin.

“We at the Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights express our full solidarity with the three Christian detainees,” a statement from the group reads. 

“We hold the Turkish authorities fully legal responsibility for their physical integrity, and we demand that they release them immediately and without any delay.”
The Syrian and Iraqi Christian humanitarian group A Demand for Action confirmed the arrests through sources on the ground in Turkey.

Christian Post report continues here

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