TURKEY: Police break up plot to assassinate pastor
18th January, 2013
Police in Turkey say they thwarted an assassination plot against Emre Karaali (pictured) on Tuesday 15 January when they arrested 14 suspects, two of whom had been part of his congregation for more than a year.
Emre Karaali (33), pastor of Izmit Protestant Church, was the target of the alleged plot. He is a native Turk and a former Muslim. Emre said that two of the arrested suspects were regular members, feigning interest in Christianity. Some of the other suspects also had visited the church. Eleven of the suspects are men and three are women.
"These people had infiltrated our church and collected information about me, my family and the church and were preparing an attack against us," said Emre. "Two of them attended our church for over a year and they were like family."
Accounts of the arrests in Turkish media reported that the suspects were planning to murder Emre during a series of evangelistic outreach meetings.
"They caught them at the last minute," said Hakan Tastan, an Istanbul Christian who was visiting Izmit on Wednesday 16 January. "If they had waited one week, we would have lost them," he said, referring to the pastor, his family and church members.
The 14 suspects had collected personal information, copies of personal documents, created maps of the church and the pastor's home, and had photographs of those who had come to Izmit to preach. The police recorded the telephone conversations of the 14 suspects, and found two guns in one of the homes they raided.
Press reports said that the Izmit anti-terror police decided to close in when they learned that the network of suspects had brought in someone from Diyarbakir, in eastern Turkey, to carry out the murder. The police are not talking about the arrests, as their investigation is ongoing.
Emre described his treatment at the hands of the police as "exceptional". He said he has been working with the police since January 2012, when he informed them of a death threat he had received: "I received a threat by phone and that's when the police started to investigate." Emre said that he declined the police protection he was offered, but his wife and two young children moved into an apartment building with better security. Another threat was made during the summer: "They said, ‘You talk too much. We're hearing your voice everywhere and we're going to break your head.' They didn't say they'll kill me exactly, but that if I didn't shut up it would be bad." The police have not revealed whether any of the 14 arrested suspects is connected to the telephone threats.
Izmit, about 160 kilometres east of Istanbul, is in an industrial region of about 1 million people, known for the devastating earthquake of 1999 that claimed thousands of lives. Izmit Protestant Church, which has been in existence for 13 years, is a congregation of 20 native Turks, all of whom are former Muslims. Emre and his wife have served the church for four years, in an environment he describes as difficult: "Every region of Turkey has its challenges. What is difficult about our city is that the people here are closed and there are many radical groups making it a hard place for the church. The anger towards us continues."
A Christian visiting the Izmit church this week described a group of children yelling insults at people leaving an evening meeting. Earlier in the week, a passerby threw rocks and hurled expletives at the church. "There is hate and this hate feeling continues from people here," Emre said. "We've been trying to make known what Christianity is about. There are those who come to us who are warm and well-intentioned, but ones who hate us also come, unfortunately."
Emre's predecessor Wolfgang Hade, a German, also received death threats during his time as pastor in Izmit, and was under police protection for a year after the 2007 murders of three Christians in the eastern city of Malatya. The accused ringleader of the Malatya murders had said that he was planning to kill Wolfgang Hade next.
The Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation, of which the Izmit church is a member, denounced the alleged assassination plot in a press statement on 17 January: "These types of assassination attempts are a black stain that some want to spread on Turkey making it a spectacle to the world. We stand against those who attack different faiths in our country. Instead we prefer the upholding of the virtues of love and brotherhood, which is the core of tolerance."
Emre Karaali said that he intends to continue to pastor his small flock. "Two years ago I almost lost my life because of my health, but the Lord brought me back to life and he has done this for me again," he said. "He protects us, so we believe this means the Lord has work for us to do. We haven't lost our confidence. On the contrary, we feel the Lord is with us because he didn't allow this [assassination] to happen, and we will continue to do what the Lord asks. We will continue. We will continue."
(World Watch Monitor)
Police in Turkey say they thwarted an assassination plot against Emre Karaali (pictured) on Tuesday 15 January when they arrested 14 suspects, two of whom had been part of his congregation for more than a year.Emre Karaali (33), pastor of Izmit Protestant Church, was the target of the alleged plot. He is a native Turk and a former Muslim. Emre said that two of the arrested suspects were regular members, feigning interest in Christianity. Some of the other suspects also had visited the church. Eleven of the suspects are men and three are women.
"These people had infiltrated our church and collected information about me, my family and the church and were preparing an attack against us," said Emre. "Two of them attended our church for over a year and they were like family."
Accounts of the arrests in Turkish media reported that the suspects were planning to murder Emre during a series of evangelistic outreach meetings.
"They caught them at the last minute," said Hakan Tastan, an Istanbul Christian who was visiting Izmit on Wednesday 16 January. "If they had waited one week, we would have lost them," he said, referring to the pastor, his family and church members.
The 14 suspects had collected personal information, copies of personal documents, created maps of the church and the pastor's home, and had photographs of those who had come to Izmit to preach. The police recorded the telephone conversations of the 14 suspects, and found two guns in one of the homes they raided.
Press reports said that the Izmit anti-terror police decided to close in when they learned that the network of suspects had brought in someone from Diyarbakir, in eastern Turkey, to carry out the murder. The police are not talking about the arrests, as their investigation is ongoing.
Police investigations
Emre Karaali said that he learned about the arrests when reading the morning newspaper on Wednesday 16 January. Later that day, the police called him in for questioning and a briefing that lasted more than five hours. He said that the police showed him photographs of some of the twelve suspects who, unlike the remaining two suspects, had not been regularly attending the church. He said he recognized some of the twelve as occasional visitors.Emre described his treatment at the hands of the police as "exceptional". He said he has been working with the police since January 2012, when he informed them of a death threat he had received: "I received a threat by phone and that's when the police started to investigate." Emre said that he declined the police protection he was offered, but his wife and two young children moved into an apartment building with better security. Another threat was made during the summer: "They said, ‘You talk too much. We're hearing your voice everywhere and we're going to break your head.' They didn't say they'll kill me exactly, but that if I didn't shut up it would be bad." The police have not revealed whether any of the 14 arrested suspects is connected to the telephone threats.
Izmit Church
Izmit, about 160 kilometres east of Istanbul, is in an industrial region of about 1 million people, known for the devastating earthquake of 1999 that claimed thousands of lives. Izmit Protestant Church, which has been in existence for 13 years, is a congregation of 20 native Turks, all of whom are former Muslims. Emre and his wife have served the church for four years, in an environment he describes as difficult: "Every region of Turkey has its challenges. What is difficult about our city is that the people here are closed and there are many radical groups making it a hard place for the church. The anger towards us continues."A Christian visiting the Izmit church this week described a group of children yelling insults at people leaving an evening meeting. Earlier in the week, a passerby threw rocks and hurled expletives at the church. "There is hate and this hate feeling continues from people here," Emre said. "We've been trying to make known what Christianity is about. There are those who come to us who are warm and well-intentioned, but ones who hate us also come, unfortunately."
Emre's predecessor Wolfgang Hade, a German, also received death threats during his time as pastor in Izmit, and was under police protection for a year after the 2007 murders of three Christians in the eastern city of Malatya. The accused ringleader of the Malatya murders had said that he was planning to kill Wolfgang Hade next.
The Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation, of which the Izmit church is a member, denounced the alleged assassination plot in a press statement on 17 January: "These types of assassination attempts are a black stain that some want to spread on Turkey making it a spectacle to the world. We stand against those who attack different faiths in our country. Instead we prefer the upholding of the virtues of love and brotherhood, which is the core of tolerance."
Emre Karaali said that he intends to continue to pastor his small flock. "Two years ago I almost lost my life because of my health, but the Lord brought me back to life and he has done this for me again," he said. "He protects us, so we believe this means the Lord has work for us to do. We haven't lost our confidence. On the contrary, we feel the Lord is with us because he didn't allow this [assassination] to happen, and we will continue to do what the Lord asks. We will continue. We will continue."
(World Watch Monitor)
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