Turkish court says government violated rights of Greek Orthodox priests

Statues astatine the entranceway of the Constitutional Court successful Ankara, Turkey. [Burhan Ozbilici/AP]

Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled successful September that two Greek Orthodox priests were illegally barred from serving connected a instauration board, successful violation of their law close to state of association, according to the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) connected Friday, which cited Agos quality website.

Atanas (Athanasios) Mamasis and Corc (George) Kasapoglu, affiliated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul, were elected to the committee of the Samatya Aya Analipsis Greek Orthodox Church Foundation successful 2011, but the General Directorate of Foundations (VGM), a Turkish authorities bureau liable for foundations, refused to validate the predetermination unless the clerics were removed, citing their spiritual roles arsenic incompatible with committee membership, the study said.

The priests challenged the decision, arguing that the 2008 Foundations Regulation did not prohibit clergy from serving connected instauration boards and filed, done their attorney, an exertion with the Constitutional Court connected October 24, 2019, SCF reported, citing Agos.

On September 18, 2024, the tribunal recovered that the long-running ineligible uncertainty deprived the applicants of their close to state of association, protected under Article 33 of the Turkish Constitution, according to the ruling published successful the Turkish Government Gazette connected Friday.

The tribunal awarded each applicant 30,000 Turkish lira ($847) successful non-pecuniary damages and ordered that a transcript of the determination beryllium sent to the VGM and the Ministry of Justice.