Posted on 22^nd April 2010

Greetings in the name of Jesus, our risen Lord

The trial continues of the five men charged with the murder of three Christians, Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel and Tilmann Geske, at the Zirve Christian publishing house in Malatya, Eastern Turkey, in April 2007. The five men, aged 19 and 20 at the time, were arrested at the scene and have been held in custody ever since. Their trial opened in November 2007.

The most recent hearing took place on 15^th April, just three days before the third anniversary of the murders. There were three significant developments.

First, two defense lawyers excused themselves from the hearing, thereby preventing the judges from issuing a verdict should they have decided to do so. At the previous hearing in February the prosecutors had pressed for the trial to be concluded and for the five defendants each to be given the maximum possible sentence.

Second, the judges decided to call a new witness to the next hearing, which they scheduled for 14^th May. This witness wrote to the court stating that he had been offered money in return for killing the three Christians.

Third, a 28-page report was presented by prosecuting lawyers seeking to link this case to a plot referred to as the “Cage Plan”, which is itself understood to be part of “Ergenekon”, an operation to destabilize and overthrow the government led by a cabal of retired generals, politicians and other prominent figures. The Cage Plan allegedly involved 41 serving and former navy officers organising a series of assassinations of members of religious minorities. The aim was to diminish support for the government by showing its inability to protect minority groups. Cage Plan materials include references to the Malatya case and the murder of two other Christians in 2006 and 2007. In the previous hearing the judges rejected a prosecution request to link the Malatya and Ergenekon trials.

Christian news service Compass Direct quotes Zekai Tanyar, chairman of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey, as saying that while churches want to see closure for the sake of the families who lost their loved ones, they also want “the truth, the real culprits and mindsets behind the killings to be revealed somehow." He said that their prayer is that "God who is the worker of miracles will work these two contradictory expectations out; a closure and an exposure at the same time.”

Turkish Christians request our continued prayers that:

a.      Family members and friends of the victims will continue to know the peace of Jesus as the trial process continues

b.      Justice will be done concerning the perpetrators, and that those behind them will be identified

c.       There would be renewed international attention towards this trial

d.      All those who aided or perpetrated the murders would have a deep conviction about what they have done, and understand the depths of Jesus’ forgiveness

e.      The judges, other officials, lawyers and journalists involved will hear the gospel of Jesus, feel the Spirit’s conviction of sin and be drawn to the Father’s love, forgiveness and acceptance

f.        All Christians involved will know the Spirit's enabling, equipping and assisting as they persevere in their efforts to promote justice

Open sources used: Compass Direct, Forum-18

May be circulated to general mailing lists and quoted from freely citing "Middle East Concern" as the source of the information.