Turkish authorities prosecute theological dissenters for perceived insults to Islam; exert undue administrative control over religious groups’ classification and legal registration; and impede some communities’ access to houses of worship and clergy, including expelling foreign Christian pastors as so-called national security risks. Some refugees face unlawful deportation to countries where they face severe religious persecution.
Source: A protester holds a banner reading "we are alevi" as he and many others wait to hear the decision of the court in front of a courthouse in Ankara, REUTERS / Bektas