This past spring, USCIRF staff traveled to Turkey and met with religious and nonbelief communities across the country. Numerous issues continue to negatively impact their freedom of religion or belief, including an inability to train clergy, mandatory religion classes, the threat of blasphemy charges, and other forms of discrimination. USCIRF has monitored and reported on Turkey since the late 2000s, recommending it for placement on the Special Watch List (previously known as Tier 2) every year since 2014 and most recently again in USCIRF’s 2022 Annual Report.

Senior Policy Analyst Keely Bakken, who was part of that USCIRF delegation to Turkey, joins us today to discuss some of the findings of that trip as well as USCIRF’s recent policy recommendations.

Read USCIRF’s 2022 Annual Report Chapter on Turkey

Listen to USCIRF’s Spotlight Podcast Episode Sivas Massacre and Turkey’s Persecution of the Alevi Community

Listen to USCIRF’s Spotlight Podcast Episode 50 Years and Counting: The Continued Closure of Halki Seminary in Turkey

With Contributions from:

Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

Keely Bakken, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Dylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF