Inside Europe

Murders, death threats and hate mail – are Turkey’s Christians under siege?

Last weekend, Christians from around the world gathered in southwest Turkey to celebrate the birth, two millennia ago, of Saint Paul.

The event marked the beginning of twelve months of festivities to mark the Year of St Paul. But Turkey’s small Christian community has been the target of less welcome attention. Over the past year, attacks against it have claimed the lives of 4 people, including the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was gunned down outside his newspaper. Police recently intervened to prevent the murder of a priest, while another priest was stabbed in his church. The attacks are being blamed on extreme nationalists and as Dorian Jones reports from Ankara, Christians now live in a climate of fear.

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