Erdogan’s regime, inspired by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, has adopted a hostile stance towards Christians. By 2023, Christians were the most persecuted religious minority in Turkey, with a population of approximately 150,000, and a total of 22 violent attacks recorded against them. The government restricts religious freedoms, confiscates church properties, and denies rights to build or renovate churches. Historic churches and monasteries, particularly in southeastern Turkey and Istanbul, are frequently seized by the state and repurposed. In February 2024, Turkey’s Ministry of Education distributed a manual to schools emphasizing that Christian holidays must not be celebrated.
In April, the historic Armenian Church of St. Mary in the village of Goydun, Sivas Province, was put up for sale for $500,000. The church is registered as a protected cultural heritage site, and its sale should legally be prohibited. The following month, the Church of the Holy Savior in the Fields (Chora Church) in Istanbul was, by Erdogan’s decree, converted back into a mosque from a museum, mirroring the case of Hagia Sophia in 2020.
The Greek Orthodox Church is in the worst position due to strained Turkish-Greek relations. Additionally, the Turkish government employs criminal law to harass clergy (especially Syrian and Armenian), accusing them of undermining national sovereignty. Many foreign Christian missionaries have been expelled from the country.
Opposition Suppression
The repression of political opposition by Erdogan’s regime is characterized by arrests, imprisonments, and trials of politicians, journalists, and activists, especially after 2016. The government uses broadly defined anti-terrorism laws to criminalize opposition parties, particularly pro-Kurdish ones. Opposition media outlets have been shut down or placed under control, while activists face censorship and threats, significantly restricting the space for free political activity and democratic debate in the country. Freedom of speech is severely endangered.
Between 2014 and 2022, more than 160,000 people were investigated for allegedly insulting the president, with 45,000 criminal charges filed and 13,000 convictions. At least 972 minors were investigated last year for allegedly insulting Erdogan or the Turkish state. On December 12, a 16-year-old girl in Istanbul was conditionally sentenced to over 10 months in prison for allegedly insulting the president. It would be laughable if it weren’t horrifying.
Persecution of Turks Abroad
Interestingly, Erdogan’s regime doesn’t only persecute dissident citizens within Turkey but also targets Turks in the diaspora. Persecution of Erdogan opponents has been reported in 31 countries across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Turkey’s intelligence agency (MIT) primarily targets individuals associated with the religious movement of Fethullah Gulen, as well as Kurdish and leftist activists.
In January 2013, three Kurdish exiles, including a PKK co-founder, were assassinated at a Kurdish cultural center in Paris. The Turk arrested for the murders died in custody before trial, raising suspicions that he was a Turkish agent. The biker gang Osmanen Germania was accused of spying on and threatening Turkish exiles in Germany, leading to its ban by German authorities in 2018. After the failed 2016 coup, MIT launched a global offensive against “dangerous” opposition. Turkish officials openly boast about MIT’s role in kidnapping Gulen movement members. Abductions have occurred in Azerbaijan, Sudan, Greece, Kosovo, and other countries.
Discrimination Against the LGBT+ Community
At the start of January this year, Erdogan declared the Year of the Family in Turkey, aimed not only at increasing birth rates but also at harassing the LGBT+ community. On multiple occasions, the Turkish leader claimed that sexual minorities were part of a foreign conspiracy to undermine Turkey’s development. By “Turkey,” he, of course, meant himself and his own dictatorship. Although small in number, the LGBT+ minority in Turkey has been under surveillance by authorities in recent years, facing constant repression through public intimidation, police terror, and media demonization.
Pride parades have been banned since 2015, and those attempting to participate are met with water cannons, police barricades, and tear gas. Interestingly, Erdogan justifies the terror against the LGBT+ community by citing a supposed population decline. This is an outright lie. Turkey’s population was 67 million in 2000 and grew to over 85 million in 2023. Yet this hasn’t stopped Erdogan from promoting a three-child policy per family and imposing higher taxes on unmarried and divorced individuals.
A narcissistic quasi-dictator
Erdogan’s regime has transformed Turkey from a country with democratic potential into an authoritarian state that violates human rights and suppresses political freedoms. Systematic repression, fostering divisions, and undermining minority rights have granted Recep Erdogan near-absolute power but at the cost of eroding social trust and Turkey’s international reputation. While he uses nationalism and religion as tools to maintain power, the consequences of his narcissistic rule are evident in growing public discontent, a rapidly declining economy, and deep social divisions.
The Terror Continues in 2025
The latest wave of terror by Erdoğan’s regime began in March this year when he arrested and imprisoned his main rival for power, the talented mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu. The official reason for the arrest were charges of corruption and aiding the banned PKK, both of which sound unconvincing. In addition to İmamoğlu, around 100 journalists and businesspeople were arrested. As a reaction, large-scale public protests erupted across Turkey on March 19 (in Izmir, Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa) and have continued to this day. The protests have united the Turkish opposition, from the far left to the far right. Protesters are also driven by the dire economic situation, as the Turkish lira lost 16% of its value against the US dollar in March alone. Whether the modern Turkish sultan will fall remains to be seen.
Author: Matija Šerić
Featured image: PickPik
