A Turkish court received permission Feb. 24 from the Ministry of Justice to try Christians Turan Topal and Hakan Tastan under the revised Article 301 law that has sparked outrage among free speech proponents. The court had sent the case to the Ministry of Justice after the government put into effect a series of changes to the law back in May of 2008.

"The trial will continue from where it left off.  To be honest, we thought they wouldn't give permission [for the case to continue]," defense lawyer Haydar Polat said, "because there was no persuasive evidence of 'degrading Turkishness and Islam' in the case file."

Topal and Tastan were accused by three young men  - Fatih Kose, Alper Eksi and Oguz Yilmaz – of conducting missionary activities in an effort to show that Islam was a primitive and fictitious religion that results in terrorism, and to portray Turks as a "cursed people."  Prosecutors haven’t yet produced any evidence to support these claims. Furthermore, Polat said Turkey's constitution grants all citizens freedom to choose, be educated in and communicate their religion, making missionary activities perfectly legal.

"This is the point that really needs to be understood," Polat said. "In Turkey, constitutionally speaking, it is not a crime to be a Christian or to disseminate the Christian faith. However, in reality there have been problems."

The lawyer asserted that the case has been politicized by the prosecution with baseless accusations rendered in a nationalistic light.

"From their point of view, missionary activity carried out by missionaries of imperialistic countries is harmful for Turkish culture and the country overall," Polat said.

Tastan said that although he has always been confident he and Topal will be acquitted, the decision of the Ministry of Justice to try them under Article 301 left him deeply disappointed in his country.

"After this last hearing, I realized that I didn't feel as comfortable as I had been in the past," Tastan told Compass Direct News. "I believed that surely the Ministry of Justice would never make the decision they did."

Tastan said he was uneasy that his country would deem his Christian faith as insulting to the very Turkishness in which he takes pride.

"This is the source of my uneasiness: I love this country so much, this country's people, that as a loving Turk who is a Christian to be tried for insulting Turkey has really cut me up," Tastan said. "Because I love this nation, I've never said anything against it. That I'm a Christian, yes, I say that and I will continue to do so. But I think they are trying to paint the image that we insult, dislike and hate Turks. This really makes me sad and heartsick."

If nothing else, Tastan said, the trial has provided an opportunity for Turkish Christians to show God's love and also make themselves known to their fellow patriots.

Polat and the defendants said they believe the case should come to a conclusion at the next hearing on May 28 because no evidence has been presented.

"From a legal standpoint, we hope that they will acquit us, that it will be obvious that there is no proof," Tastan said. "There have only been allegations.... none of the witnesses have accused us in court. I'm not a legal expert, but I believe that if there is no proof and no evidence of 'insulting,' then we should be set free."

At a June 24, 2008, hearing, two witnesses for the prosecution declared they did not know the defendants and had never seen them before facing them in court. Several witnesses - including one of the original accusers -have failed to even show up on various trial dates.

"We believe the case has arrived to a concluding stage, because all evidence has been collected and the witnesses have been heard," Polat said. "We believe the accused will be dismissed. The inverse would surprise us."

While Polat said the case shows that human rights violations in Turkey remain a "serious problem," he said it is also true that Turkey's desire to join the European Union has brought sincere efforts to improve democratic processes. Establishing a true democracy, he acknowledged, can be a long process that requires sacrifices.

"It is my conviction that there is no other way for people to believe in and establish democracy than through struggle," Polat said.

Tastan said he sees hope that the notion of being "Turkish" means the notion of being Muslim is weakening. Thanks to the extensive media coverage of the murder trial for the April 2007 slaughter of three Christians in Malatya, Turks are becoming aware that there are fellow citizens who are Christians and are even dying for their Lord.

"This makes me happy, because it means freedom for the Turkish Christians that come after us," Tastan said. "At least they won't experience these injustices. I believe we will accomplish this."

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