Christians ‘second-class citizens’

Human-rights campaigners have warned that Christians still face “serious discrimination” in Turkey, despite recent government gestures in the run-up to a late-November visit by the Pope, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

“Again and again, Christians are treated as second-class ­citizens – building permits cannot be obtained and church renovations are not approved,” said the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR). “While it is possible to worship, Turkish identity cards still require the listing of religion and Christians are rarely employed as state officials. Relations with Islamic communities are relaxed on the surface, but the situation is quite different in practice.”