Tag archives: Turkey

Man who went to Syria guilty of joining al Qaida-linked group
July 18, 2025 By Faith Matters

Man who went to Syria guilty of joining al Qaida-linked group

A man has been found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight with a terrorist group linked to al Qaida for jihad. Isa Giga, 32, resigned from his job as a technical support consultant job at a technology firm and bought a business class return flight to Turkey before crossing into war-torn Syria in August […]

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Uighur exiles describe forced abortions and torture in China
June 5, 2021 By Faith Matters

Uighur exiles describe forced abortions and torture in China

Three Uighurs who fled from China to Turkey have described forced abortions and torture by Chinese authorities in the far western Xinjiang region. They were speaking ahead of giving evidence to a people’s tribunal in London that is investigating if Beijing’s actions against ethnic Uighurs amount to genocide. One woman said she was forced to […]

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Turkey pulls out of European treaty protecting women
March 20, 2021 By Faith Matters

Turkey pulls out of European treaty protecting women

Turkey has withdrawn from a European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first to sign 10 years ago and that bears the name of its largest city. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decree annulling Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women’s rights advocates, who say the agreement is crucial […]

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Students arrested in Turkey over Mecca poster with LGBT flags
February 1, 2021 By Faith Matters

Students arrested in Turkey over Mecca poster with LGBT flags

Two students have been arrested in Turkey on charges of inciting hatred and insulting religious values for a poster depicting Islam’s most sacred site with LGBT flags. The arrests came after top Turkish officials condemned the poster, displayed at an exhibition in Turkey’s prestigious Bogazici University. For weeks, students and faculty have been protesting over […]

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Turkey gives IS militant 40 life sentences for 2017 nightclub attack
September 8, 2020 By Faith Matters

Turkey gives IS militant 40 life sentences for 2017 nightclub attack

A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a suspected member of so-called Islamic State to life in prison for the New Year’s Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead. Abdulkadir Masharipov, of Uzbekistan, was convicted of 39 counts of murder and one count of attempting to overthrow the constitutional […]

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Two Men Convicted Of Planning To Join Daesh
April 1, 2019 By Faith Matters

Two Men Convicted Of Planning To Join Daesh

Two friends who attempted to travel to Syria have been found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts in support of the so-called Islamic State. Safwaan Mansur, from Birmingham, and Hanzalah Patel, from Leicester, travelled to Turkey in 2016 and 2017 after checking out an area near the Syrian border on TripAdvisor, a two-week trial was […]

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Terror Suspect ‘Claimed To Have Visited Near the Syrian Border as Tourist Excursion’
March 20, 2019 By Faith Matters

Terror Suspect ‘Claimed To Have Visited Near the Syrian Border as Tourist Excursion’

A terror suspect accused of planning to join Islamic State claimed to have visited a Turkish province bordering Syria as a “tourist excursion” after checking the area out on TripAdvisor, a jury has heard. Safwaan Mansur, from Birmingham, and Hanzalah Patel, from Leicester, both deny a charge of travelling to Turkey in preparation for terrorist […]

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Germany: Cologne on lockdown as Erdogan wraps up ill-tempered visit to Germany
October 1, 2018 By Faith Matters

Germany: Cologne on lockdown as Erdogan wraps up ill-tempered visit to Germany

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wrapped up an ill-tempered visit to Germany on Saturday with a visit to Cologne, where a security lockdown kept supporters and protesters away from a ceremony to open the country’s largest mosque. Police snipers were stationed on rooftops and the area was cordoned off after the city authorities cancelled plans for […]

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Turkey: Freedoms suffer as government blocks decades-old mothers’ vigil
August 29, 2018 By Faith Matters

Turkey: Freedoms suffer as government blocks decades-old mothers’ vigil

Every Saturday for 23 years, dozens of people have held a vigil in a central Istanbul square, sitting in silence and holding pictures of relatives who went missing in police detention. The group was about to stage their 700th demonstration last Saturday when Turkish police told them their protest was banned, before firing tear gas […]

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Turkey to retaliate against U.S. decision to impose sanctions over pastor
August 1, 2018 By Faith Matters

Turkey to retaliate against U.S. decision to impose sanctions over pastor

Turkey will retaliate against a U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two senior ministers over the imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Washington sanctioned Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu over the pastor’s detention. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the two men played leading roles […]

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