In April 2007, five young men tortured and killed two
Turkish converts and a German Christian at a Christian publishing house in the
southeastern city of Malatya. When the resulting trial began in January 2008,
the court and the Turkish public regarded it as a straightforward case of overzealous
nationalists killing missionaries, whose activity was widely regarded as a
national threat.
But in recent months, lawyers have tied the case to a more
serious national threat. Prosecutors have expanded their investigation beyond
the five assailants to local officials. The murders are now seen as a plot by
the "deep state" group Ergenekon, a cabal of generals, politicians, and other
prominent figures accused of trying to overthrow the government. Ergenekon is
already accused of plotting a national coup and killing several people,
including a Catholic priest.
"From the very beginning, it was clear that some other
people were involved with this, because in Turkey you cannot do something on
this scale without being noticed by state agents," said Orhan Kemal Cengiz, the
lead prosecuting attorney for the Malatya case. He invited lawyers from across
Turkey working on Ergenekon-linked murder cases to form "a common eye" on the
Malatya murders.
"We are very close to the truth," said Cengiz, who has
received numerous threats for his work on the case. "What could be a bigger
motivation than this?"
Turkey's small Protestant community is hailing the work of
the legal team, which now includes 18 top Turkish lawyers, as a victory in
itself, said Zekai Tanyar, chairman of the Association of Protestant Churches
in Turkey.
"These men and women are not Christians, and yet have
voluntarily and tirelessly taken on this cause in the ...
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As the national pro-life movement celebrated, activists opposing abortion in blue states watched years of setbacks happen in a few days. Still, they are finding different ways of winning.
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Faithful responses to the Supreme Court decision should involve new care practices.español
We aren’t all equally afraid of the same things. But Scripture’s wisdom can apply to all of us.
As the national pro-life movement celebrated, activists opposing abortion in blue states watched years of setbacks happen in a few days. Still, they are finding different ways of winning.
