Student Staff Update: Maria Cabrera

My name is Maria Cabrera, and this is my first year with the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law (CGJ). I am a first-year Masters in Law student with Regent University. My favorite part of the CGJ is learning about people and different cultures throughout the world.

Hello, Everyone.

As the spring semester ends, I must confess I feel special because I was asked to help research and study Turkey. Turkey is a land rich in history, the arts, intellectual achievements, and fortitude. I only hope that Turkey will channel her gifts to continue to build the next generation in Turkey and carry her torch as the only secular Muslim nation in the world and that light bear a moral compass to exercise good when under fire.

As a leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan possesses an uncanny popularity and charisma that could make a difference for the better in Turkey and the surrounding region for freedom. His acumen as a businessman could help build a more independent Turkey, ruling with immediate reason and the rule of law as his friend and not his enemy.

It has been six months since Turkish authorities unjustly imprisoned United States Pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey. Currently, Turkey is in a State of Emergency and securing a trial date may be a challenge.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Attorney Aysun Aksehirlioğlu for Pastor Brunson “released a statement indicating the lack of evidence that Pastor Brunson had a membership or any other relationship with cited organization.”

The ACLJ continues to say that on a recent visit to Turkey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presented Pastor Brunson’s case directly with President Erdoğan suggesting that an indictment might be forthcoming.

More than ever before, wisdom, understanding, and compassion demonstrate the need for a comprehensive approach for the United States and Turkey regarding the freedom of one husband and father, Pastor Brunson.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

Advancing Religious Freedom in Turkey

For the past several months I’ve been researching, drafting, and editing a book that the Center for Global Justice is writing regarding religious freedom in Turkey.  Our project centers on the right of individuals in Turkey to gather with others and worship as communities of believers.

Although religious practices are certainly very personal and, at times, private, people of faith find greater meaning when they are able to do so with like-minded believers.  Freedom of religion is connected to freedom of association, two rights that are protected under international law.  Specifically, religious groups have the legal right to establish a place of worship, and the benefits that come with that status.  Religious groups also should have the right to “legal personality,” that is, to collectively take legal actions, such as purchasing or renting property.  In Turkey, however, these rights are threatened for minority religious groups such as Christians and Jehovah Witnesses.

This blog post was written by student staff member Jon Greig

Turkey, by ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights, has agreed to abide by its legal standards, among which include both freedom of religion and association.  A recent European Court of Human Rights case, CASE OF İZZETTİN DOĞAN AND OTHERS v. TURKEY (2016), is going to be featured in our book.  In this case, the Court held that the government of Turkey violated a minority religious group’s freedom of religion, in part by failing to grant legal status to a minority Muslim group’s places of worship. 

The Court stated,

"[T]he absence of a clear legal framework governing unrecognised religious minorities ... causes numerous additional legal, organisational and financial problems ... Firstly, the ability to build places of worship is uncertain and is subject to the good will of the central or local authorities. Secondly, the communities in question cannot officially receive donations from members or State subsidies. Thirdly, as they lack legal personality, these communities do not have access to the courts in their own right but only through foundations, associations or groups of followers. Furthermore, religious communities trying to operate as a foundation or an association face numerous legal obstacles ..."

Case here:  http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{"itemid":["001-162697"]}

There’s no question that all religious groups in any nation, including Turkey, should have the freedom to freely practice their religions without state interference, including the right to worship together and build houses of worship.  In this light, I am hopeful that our project will educate and empower people of faith in Turkey to exercise their religious freedoms.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

Threats to Religious Freedom in Turkey

I am currently working on a Center for Global Justice project related to promoting religious freedom in Turkey.  Turkey, while a predominantly Muslim nation, is Constitutionally committed to being a secular nation.  Turkey’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, assembly, association and expression, among other rights (PDF). Turkey has also signed a number of international human rights agreements, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).  Under Turkey’s Constitution, international agreements have the “force of law” in Turkey (Article 90).  The ECHR also guarantees freedom of religion, expression, assembly and association: www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf.  Generally, freedom of religion encompasses the right to practice one’s religion both publicly and in private, alone or in a group.   

Despite Turkey’s commitment to secularism and religious freedom, both nationally and internationally, there are a number of concerns regarding religious freedom in Turkey.  Although Turkey does not have an official state religion, it exercises official state control over religion.  The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its 2016 annual report, notes some positive developments in Turkey, but states:

“No religious community, including the Sunni Muslim majority, has full legal status and all are subject to state controls that limit their rights to own and maintain places of worship, train clergy, and offer religious education. Other concerns relate to the compulsory religious education classes in public primary and secondary schools, the listing of religious affiliation on national identity cards, anti-Semitism, threats against Turkey’s small Protestant community, and denials of access to religious sites in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus….Under the Turkish interpretation of secularism, however, the state has pervasive control over religion and denies full legal status to all religious communities. This limits religious freedom for all religious groups and has been particularly detrimental to the smallest minority faiths. Official control of Islam is through the Presidency of Religious Affairs, and of all other faiths is through the General Directorate for Foundations.”  (www.uscirf.gov/reports-briefs/annual-report/2016-annual-report). 

As a minority religion in Turkey (there are fewer than 150,000 Christians in Turkey, according to USCIRF), Christians may face challenges in Turkey.  Open Doors USA reports that the Directorate General of Foundation verbally ordered a city’s church building to be vacated in 5 days.  As the only church building in a city of 2 million people, it is shared by 4 congregations.  Although the order was later rescinded, the article states, “Under Turkish law non-Muslim, significant legal hurdles face faith communities that attempt to register an officially sanctioned house of worship. Multiple congregations often share the same space due to these challenges.” (www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/tag-prayer-updates-post/turkey-rescinds-order-to-close-only-church-in-bursa/) 

In July of 2016, Turkey endured a failed coup attempt.  The Catholic Register reports that "More than 300 people were killed and another 2,100 injured when soldiers tried to take over the Turkish parliament in Ankara and other key institutions.”  Since the failed coup, “At least 6,000 people have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of being associated with Hizmet and Gulen, those allegedly behind the coup. Close to 3,000 military personnel, 2,700 judges and thousands of teachers and university academics have been fired.”  According to BBC, the Hizmet movement is a Muslim network, inspired by Fethullah Gulen, who “promotes a tolerant Islam which emphasizes altruism, hard work and education.” (www.bbc.com/news/world-13503361)  The Catholic Register states that Hizmet “reflects Gulen’s modern take on the mystical Sufi Muslim tradition.”  

Quoting Andrew Bennett of the Cardus Christian think tank, the Catholic Register states:

“When the Turkish government starts clamping down on a particular strand of Islam, it can only further marginalize other religious minorities, including Christians, Jews and Alevis…Freedom of religion has always been tenuous for Turkish Christians and Jews, who have had their properties seized by the state.”

Quoting Intercultural Dialogue Institute executive vice president Fatih Yegul, the Catholic Register reports,

“It has always been the Sunni Muslim ideology, that’s always been the dominant thing…But with these new developments for the past three years — with the government purging and putting pressure on free media, putting pressure on freedom of expression, etc. — one interpretation of Sunni Islam is becoming more and more dominant. Which of course can be interpreted as a threat against freedom of religion.” (www.catholicregister.org/home/international/item/22820-religious-freedom-threatened-by-turkey-s-response-to-coup). 

The Voice of the Martyrs states,

“This secular republic is now ruled by an Islamic party, and some are concerned by the growing authoritarianism of the prime minister… Active Christians face hardships ranging from job loss to physical violence and even death. All religious communities are subject to state controls, which limit the right to own places of worship, train clergy and offer religious instruction.” (https://www.persecution.com/public/restrictednations.aspx?country_ID=%3d3530)

The research I’ve done so far has been educational, as I’ve been able to learn about an area of the world that, prior to beginning this project, I knew very little about.  I am hopeful that our project will be influential in helping Turkish people understand and assert their rights, particularly their rights to religious freedom. 

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice. 

Student Staff Projects for Fall 2016

To provide Regent Law students with practical experience in the legal protection of human rights, students volunteer with the center each semester for a minimum of 5 hours/week. Here is an overview of the projects that our student staff members are working on this semester:

IJM Uganda: International Justice Mission Uganda fights land grabbing, a terrible problem that affects thousands of widows and orphans in Uganda. In order to aid IJM's work, the Center is expanding a legal memo it drafted last semester on the legal doctrine of res judicata. The Center's memo will help IJM decide the best legal strategy to bring civil suits on behalf of widows whose land was stolen.

Kyampisi Childcare Ministries: KCM is a nonprofit organization in Uganda that fights child sacrifice. In order to aid KCM in its work of monitoring child sacrifice cases, as well as aid prosecutors, the Center is putting together a legal manual that outlines the steps involved in a child sacrifice case, applicable charges for the defendant, and various legal issues that will have to be addressed to have a successful prosecution.

Handong: The Center works in partnership with Handong International Law School to advance the rule of law and expand religious freedom in Mongolia.  This semester, the Center is drafting a legal memorandum relating to the implementation of homeschooling in Mongolia.

Shared Hope: Every semester the Center supports Shared Hope with the Protected Innocence Challenge (PIC).  The PIC is a 50-state survey designed to improve the laws of all 50 states as they relate to the sex trafficking of children. This semester, the Center is analyzing whether each state has vacatur laws that allow minor sex trafficking victims to have any convictions that resulted or related to their trafficking vacated rather than merely expunged.  When a sentence is vacated, it is completely erased from all existence, as opposed to expungement, which normally just seals the records of the conviction.  Vacation of a sentence thus offers greater protection to the victim.

Turkey Project: This semester the Center is planning on writing a short book that discusses the legal framework regarding secularism and religious freedom in Turkey.  Turkey is a very strategic country, situated between the west and the east, mostly Muslim but constitutionally secular, etc.  Recent events in Turkey, however, have the potential to upset this balance and make Turkey another Islamic state.  The booklet is thus intended to explain Turkey's constitutional commitment  to secularism and guarantee of the Free Exercise of Religion and (2) the illegality of many of the government's recent actions, including the ongoing state support of mosques. We intend to use the booklet as a means to educate those in Turkey about what Turkish law actually says and requires.

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is the body responsible for overseeing and implementing the major human rights treaty for Africa. The Center for Global Justice is currently praying about whether to become a certified non-profit organization (NGO) before the ACHPR, which hosts two sessions every year in order to address the status of human rights in the continent. Center Executive Director, Professor Jeffrey Brauch, will be attending the next session, which is to be held in The Gambia in October. We are drafting a legal memo on the ACPHR to help us identify if and how we can be involved and to better understand the major human rights issues that need to be addressed from a biblical perspective.

ADF International: As always, the Center is partnering with ADF International to monitor all cases before the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that we identify all cases on which ADF should intervene.

Jerusalem Institute of Justice: This semester the Center is continuing a project from last semester for JIJ on the Palestinian refugees. One of the primary points of disagreement between Israel and Palestine is what to do with the Palestinian refugees.  Palestine claims all refugees have a "right to return" to Israel. Israel claims that no such right exists.  We are analyzing the legal situation of the refugees, specifically looking at whether a future (or existing?) state of Palestine has an obligation under International Law to grant citizenship to the refugees.