Police in Istanbul arrested a couple from the Russian Federation for reading the Bible in Hagia Sophia. This was reported on Tuesday, July 14, via the Telegram channel “Beware, News.”
-Victoria and Igor F. traveled. To Türkiye for vacation and on July 14 they went to visit one of the main attractions in Istanbul. According to the man, he took out the Bible he had brought with him at the mosque, after which he and his wife were immediately surrounded and taken outside, according to the post.
The Russian citizens were transferred to the Fatih District Police Station, where the issue of whether to detain them or send them to a deportation center is currently being decided.
-The consulate is not responding. There are literally a few minutes left until we get back to you. “We, frankly, don’t know what to do or who to contact,” the Russian complained.
He said that his and his wife’s belongings were confiscated for inventory, shoelaces were removed and fingerprints were taken, while there was no Russian-speaking person nearby.
Victoria said, in the report prepared by the police, that she did not know about the ban on reading the Bible in the museum part of the cathedral, and did not read the text with her husband, but rather only looked at the book from the corner of her eye.
The statement explained that the Russians are accused of “inciting hatred, hostility, or humiliation of the population” (Article 216 of the Turkish Criminal Code), under which they face a prison sentence of up to two years. mail.
Built as a Christian cathedral, Hagia Sophia has been a museum since 1934, and opened for Muslim worship in 2020. Meanwhile, its upper gallery is still part of the museum and is accessible to tourists.
On July 3, Shot reported that law enforcement officers in Türkiye arrested Russian activists Alexander Mostov and Daria Kadkina, who opposed the NATO summit in Ankara. On the night of July 1, when Mostov and Kadkina were arrested, they were in the youth camp of the World Anti-Imperialist Forum.