The Malatya Trial
On April 18th five men entered the office of a Christian publishing company in Malatya in eastern Turkey and tied up the three Christian men working there. After torturing them for hours the five Turkish Muslims slit the throats of the Christian men, one of them a German translator, the other two Turkish Christians. The five killers were caught in the office with their victims. On Friday the trial of the five young men began.
Here's what I expect from the trial:
The defense and the media will try to mitigate the killing by claiming that the Christians had been intentionally provoking public reaction by setting up an office of a Christian publishing company in Malatya.
They will point out that Necati Aydin had been arrested previously in connection with selling Bibles in another city. They are likely to leave out the fact that Necati was completely acquitted of any wrongdoing.
They will question the motives behind Ugur's conversion, pointing out that he was employed by a Christian company.
They will question Tilmann's motives for living in Malatya, leaving the public to speculate about espionage, or worse, trying to increase the number of Christians in Malatya.
They may try to prove that the killers had some kind of questionable financial agreement with the victims, perhaps claiming that the killers had been promised a sum of money for their "conversion."
"Evidence" gathered from the office, especially "secret" computer files will probably be paraded in front of the court to try to support the claims about the cloudy motives of the publishing company. The defense will rightly point out how ridiculous those claims are...
"Testimonies" corroborating the claim that people were paid to convert may appear. People will cite specific amounts for conversion, baptism, and "referrals" (bringing a friend who converts). Of course all such testimonies will be entirely fabricated, but, unfortunately, even people who were genuinely expressing interest in the gospel will be tempted to go along with this line of defense since it will be easier to explain to their neighbors that they were being paid for their interest than to admit that they actually considered the truth of Christianity.
Speculation in newspapers will probably include claims of cooperation with or support from the governments of Turkey or other countries, including the U.S. Newspapers will probably also try to stir up public sympathy for the killers by casting them as innocent victims of a broader plot. Lots of theories are likely to be floated about who "actually behind the killings." There are likely to be claims that the killers were promised government protection by someone "on the inside."
Here's what I expect from the trial:
The defense and the media will try to mitigate the killing by claiming that the Christians had been intentionally provoking public reaction by setting up an office of a Christian publishing company in Malatya.
They will point out that Necati Aydin had been arrested previously in connection with selling Bibles in another city. They are likely to leave out the fact that Necati was completely acquitted of any wrongdoing.
They will question the motives behind Ugur's conversion, pointing out that he was employed by a Christian company.
They will question Tilmann's motives for living in Malatya, leaving the public to speculate about espionage, or worse, trying to increase the number of Christians in Malatya.
They may try to prove that the killers had some kind of questionable financial agreement with the victims, perhaps claiming that the killers had been promised a sum of money for their "conversion."
"Evidence" gathered from the office, especially "secret" computer files will probably be paraded in front of the court to try to support the claims about the cloudy motives of the publishing company. The defense will rightly point out how ridiculous those claims are...
"Testimonies" corroborating the claim that people were paid to convert may appear. People will cite specific amounts for conversion, baptism, and "referrals" (bringing a friend who converts). Of course all such testimonies will be entirely fabricated, but, unfortunately, even people who were genuinely expressing interest in the gospel will be tempted to go along with this line of defense since it will be easier to explain to their neighbors that they were being paid for their interest than to admit that they actually considered the truth of Christianity.
Speculation in newspapers will probably include claims of cooperation with or support from the governments of Turkey or other countries, including the U.S. Newspapers will probably also try to stir up public sympathy for the killers by casting them as innocent victims of a broader plot. Lots of theories are likely to be floated about who "actually behind the killings." There are likely to be claims that the killers were promised government protection by someone "on the inside."
On the most ridiculous end of the spectrum, there will be media reports of a dark conspiracy to make Turkey appear intolerant and anti-Western as a way of undermining Turkey's bid for EU membership. The killings will be chalked up as way to sabotage Turkey's image. "Who would benefit from such an impression?" they will ask, implying that conservative elements in Europe as well as nationalist and islamist elements in Turkey all stand to benefit if the West continues to see Turkey in a "barbaric" light, since that kind of impression will hinder Turkey's progress toward EU membership.
There are even hints that the Christians in Malatya will be accused of forcing young women into prostitution...
Columnists will wonder what business Christians had in Malatya to begin with. They will question what the other foreign families were doing in Malatya, especially those that moved out after the killings.
There are likely to be low-key demonstrations around the trial, some in support of the victims, and some in protest of missionary activity in Turkey.
Christian ministry in Turkey will come under question in television news programs, and Turkish "experts" on Christian "missionaries" will appear in interviews to expose the imperialist motives behind these Christians "agents."
In the end the public will probably be left with the impression that the brutal killings were unfortunate, but that these men were involved in shady business and that they aren't the innocent victims that the prosecution would like us to believe. And unfortunately, many Turks will accept this version of the story.
It's hard to imagine how people could lose sight of the basic fact that five Muslims tortured and killed three Christians as a service to "their country and their religion."
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