FoRB News
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Court: Compulsory Religion Class Against Equality Principle
The 4th Administrative Court of İstanbul has made its final judgment on a parent’s appeal against the compulsory religion class. The court has ruled that the religion class is “against the principle of equality.” Selnur Aysever, the parent, and Özge…
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Turkey’s top court rules against headscarf ban
Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that a university student’s right of education and freedom of religion was violated with the headscarf ban. According to the decision published on the official gazette on Tuesday, Sara Akgul, who was a student at Istanbul’s…
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Turkey’s appeals court rules Alevi minority’s cem houses are places of worship
Turkey’s Court of Appeals ruled that cem houses, places where the Alevi religious minority carry out services, are places of worship and the state should therefore cover their electricity expenses as it does for the mosques, left-wing news site Sendika.org…
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Lachiri v. Belgium: Headscarf ban imposed on a civil party in a courtroom in violation of religious freedom
In Lachiri v. Belgium, decided on 18 September 2018, the European Court of Human Rights held that excluding a woman from the courtroom, who was a civil party to the case, on the ground that she wore an ‘Islamic headscarf’…
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Criminal fine for discussion of Mohamed’s wives did not interfere with freedom of expression – Strasbourg
E.S. v Austria (Application no. 38450/12) 25 October 2018 – read judgment In a judgment which has received instant and worldwide publicity, the Strasbourg Court has ruled that the Austrian government did not violate an individual’s freedom of expression when…
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Turkey’s Christians divided over ‘freedom’ declaration
As the United States piled pressure on Turkey over a detained American pastor, the leaders of Turkey’s Christian and Jewish minorities issued a joint declaration July 31 asserting they enjoy religious freedom in the Muslim-majority country. The declaration may have…
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Lawsuit Brought Against Actress Laçin Over Anti Capital Punishment ‘Tweet’
İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had prosecuted actress Berna Laçin due to a tweet she posted against the campaign calling for “capital punishment”, which was launched after 8-year-old Eylül Yağlıkara being murdered after abused in Ankara. Laçin faces up to…
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Grand Chamber Judgment in Izzettin Doğan and Others v. Turkey: More Than a Typical Religious Discrimination Case
On 26 April 2016, the Grand Chamber held, by 12 votes to 5, that there had been a violation of Article 9 ECHR, and, by 16 votes to 1, that there had been a violation of Article 14 taken in…
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Historic Virgin Mary Church in Kayseri to become library
The century-old Virgin Mary Church in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri is being turned into a library by the municipality. Dating back to the Ottoman era, the church is currently undergoing restorations after having served as a police station…
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The Freedom of Religion or Belief Learning Platform, Launch March 2018
The Freedom of Religion or Belief Learning Platform provides resources to help individuals, communities and decision-makers learn, reflect upon and promote freedom of religion or belief for all. It includes resources for personal study and for educators and facilitators to use…
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