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Turkish police raided a Bible study group meeting in a registered place of Christian worship in Istanbul's Avcilar district Wednesday night, May 24, arresting six Turks and roughing up one of two foreign citizens pulled in for investigation.

The eight men, including Australian Ian McLure and an American colleague, were kept overnight at the Firuzkoy police station, locked into a bare room where they slept on the floor after initial questioning.

None of the arrested Christians were allowed to contact their families or embassy representatives until 4:30 the next morning, when McLure was permitted to call his wife. She and the American worker's wife informed their respective consulates of the arrests later that morning.

After being interrogated by the police station's Terrorism Activities Division to record their official statements, the eight were brought before the Kucukcekmece Prosecutor's Office late Thursday afternoon, accused of violating Article 2911 of the Turkish penal code on public meetings and demonstrations.

Lawyer Atilla Tanman was refused access to the eight detainees until moments before they appeared before the prosecutor, a standard practice for detainees accused of terrorist activities. "The police kept us inside the paddy wagon," the American said. "The lawyer was standing just outside, but they wouldn't allow him to talk to us through the window. They just closed the window."

State Prosecutor Hamit Atansay threw out the complaint "within less than five minutes," the arrested Christians told Compass. Atansay declared the accusations unfounded and ordered the men to be set free immediately.

However, police have so far refused to release one of the Turkish Christians, claiming that a computer check on the man revealed a record of an undisclosed "political offense."

Lawyer Tanman learned that police searched the arrested Christian's home and also detained his wife, leaving their two youngsters in the care of a grandmother. The couple remains under detention by the Terrorism Activities Division of Istanbul's security police, although their exact location is unconfirmed.

One of the released Turks told Compass he feared the man was being pressured to make a legal complaint against the foreign Christians, in exchange for his release over this alleged offense in his past.

A small congregation averaging 12 to 15 in attendance, the Avcilar Independent Protestant Church had registered with local authorities in January 1998. In a formal notice initialed by security police, the congregation specified Wednesday night among its regular meeting times for "religious worship and discussion" in their rented facilities.

According to the American worker, several plainclothes policemen entered the church facility about 9 p.m., an hour after the men had met for a weekly men's Bible study. "They walked in while we were singing, started looking through some of the books there, and then told us to stop, that they were arresting us," the American said.

Uniformed policemen then entered to supervise the arrest and help haul off boxes of Bibles, Christian books and a computer from the premises.

The eight men were escorted to the Firuzkoy police station, where they were frisked and interrogated by the Terrorism Activities Division. "They literally kicked each of us through the door of the police station," said the American, who had a large bruise on his leg from the blow. "Then they ordered us to stand against a blank wall while they confiscated our personal effects."

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May (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44