VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIT #0314 2260526
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD9FD49B WSC6442-695)
P 140526Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9115
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000314 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM OSCE TU
SUBJECT: BACKGROUND TO ATTACK ON CHRISTIAN IN ISTANBUL 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary. On August 3, a Christian Turk was attacked 
in Kadikoy, Istanbul, by an acquaintance who recently 
completed military service. The twenty-minute standoff ended 
when police officers threatened to open fire. The attacker 
eventually released the victim after calling him a 
"missionary dog," accusing him of breaking up the country, 
and forcing him to wave a Turkish flag. The attack was 
unprecedented in the last year, and some Christian Turks and 
a journalist for Compass Direct allege it was a planned 
propaganda piece used to threaten Turkish Protestants. So far 
this isolated incident has not been accompanied by any 
heightened anti-missionary rhetoric in media or among 
domestic groups, but we will be alert for any trend in 
anti-minority threats.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to a conversation between the victim and 
our journalist contact, on August 3, 24-year old Yasin 
Karasu, following Karasu's release from military service, met 
with 35-year old Ismail Aydin in the basement of a church in 
Kadikoy to discuss Christianity.  On their way out of the 
building, Karasu reportedly grabbed Aydin and, according to 
Aydin, said, "You're a missionary dog, and I've come to cut 
your throat" as he guided Aydin down the street.  Aydin 
explained that "it felt as if we were playing a part in a 
film. Not a single person on the way down tried to stop him 
or told him to stop."  Within a few minutes the police and a 
television crew arrived. Upon their arrival, Karasu demanded 
two Turkish flags from the crowd - forcing Aydin to wave one 
after he wrapped the other around Aydin's head. Karasu then 
surrendered willingly to the police, and he remained in 
police custody at the time of this report.  The victim, 
Aydin, shared with a contact that he will not press charges, 
but that the police had offered to do so for him. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Aydin, over the last year while Karasu 
was in the army he showed interest in learning more about 
Christianity and would regularly call Aydin, a convert from 
Islam, to discuss religion.  Aydin said he considered Karasu 
to be depressed and was "seeking relief" through his weekly 
calls.  He said he believed the attack was an isolated 
incident and likely not planned. However, other Christians 
and some members of the police (according to reporting in 
Compass Direct, an on-line Christian news source) and one 
journalist suspect it may have been an orchestrated act of 
propaganda intended to frighten Turkey's small Protestant 
community.  No one was able to specify who might have been 
behind Karasu's act.  (Note: According to Article 24 of the 
Turkish Constitution, people of all faiths have the right to 
spread information about their faith.  While proselytizing is 
not illegal, it is viewed by many as a threat to the nation. 
Until recently, eighth grade Turkish textbooks included 
several pages of information warning of the grave threats to 
the nation posed by missionaries in Turkey.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  The physical attack on a Christian in 
Istanbul on August 3 came as a surprise to those who follow 
religious freedom in Turkey given the ebb in alleged social 
abuse against religious minorities over the last year.  Until 
this event, there had been no reports of physical violence 
against religious minorities in the last year. Some, like HR 
lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz and professor and author of the "I 
Apologize Campaign" Cengiz Aktar speculated during prior 
discussions that the arrests associated with the Ergenekon 
indictments caused the lull in violence.  So far this 
isolated incident has not been accompanied by any heightened 
anti-missionary rhetoric in media or among domestic groups, 
but we will be alert for any trend in anti-minority threats. 
End Comment. 
WIENER