INTERNACIONAL
Turkey deports peaceful Christians under guise of ‘national security’ claims watchdog
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Turkey has been accused of deporting hundreds of peaceful Christians under the guise of «national security,» including dozens last year, in a move legal advocates warn is an «attack» on the freedom of religion.
In a Monday address to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), legal expert for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, Lidia Rieder, warned that Turkey is systematically targeting Christians purely «for practicing their faith.»
«Turkey’s labeling of peaceful Christian residents as ‘security threats’ is a clear misuse of law and an attack on freedom of religion or belief,» Rieder said during the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference. «When governments manipulate administrative or immigration systems to exclude people based solely on their faith, it undermines both the rule of law and the very principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence that the OSCE was founded to protect.»
Visitors gather outside the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, Turkey, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Bilal Seckin/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
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Since 2020, more than 350 foreign Christian workers and their family members have been expelled from Turkey, including at least 35 cases between December 2024 and January 2025, reported the ADF.
According to the international watchdog, Turkey’s Ministry of Interior has assigned the individuals targeted by Ankara «security codes,» like as N-82 and G-87, which effectively bars them from ever re-entering the country as it classifies them as a national security threat.
Rieder also reminded the OSCE conference of the «landmark case» Wiest v. Turkey, which is currently before the European Court of Human Rights, and is «expected to set a crucial precedent for the protection of religious freedom in Europe and beyond.»
Kenneth Wiest, a U.S. citizen and a Protestant, was born, raised and then resided legally in Turkey with his wife and three children for over 30 years before he was banned from the country in 2019 upon returning from a trip «without evidence of wrongdoing.»
His case is just the latest in what is increasingly viewed as discriminatory policies that persecute religious minorities since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took office more than a decade ago.
Women pray during the annual service at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, Turkey, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Bilal Seckin/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rieder said that the Turkish delegation present at the OSCE conference «itself acknowledged that discrimination against Christians is on the rise across the OSCE region and beyond,» which she said was «notable.»
«While Turkey emphasized its commitment to promoting tolerance through international cooperation, the same principles must be upheld within its own borders,» she said. «The reality on the ground remains deeply concerning for many individuals, families, and communities who continue to face restrictions on worship, deportations, and barriers to religious education.
«Turkey’s call to hear the voices of victims and to respect fundamental freedoms for all must now be translated into concrete action,» Rieder added.
The Turkish embassy in D.C. did not directly respond to Fox News Digital’s questions but pointed to a statement released on Wednesday by Ankara’s office of Communications Center for Countering Disinformation, which denied the claims levied by ADF International and called them «completely unfounded and part of a deliberate disinformation campaign.»
The office pointed to the history of Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities that have co-existed together and said Turkey is working to «protect» and «restore» places of worship.
«Respect for faiths and pluralism are indispensable elements of our country’s democratic order,» the statement read. «Turkey, like any other sovereign state, may make administrative decisions on foreign nationals for a variety of reasons, including visa violations, disturbance of public order, or a lack of legal permits.»
The communications department said no visa-based decisions have been made based on «identity or affiliation.»
A priest (R) is seen kissing a holy symbol held by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I celebrated the Easter’s Vigil ceremony at St. George Cathedral, in Fener, Turkey on April 20, 2025. (Valeria Ferraro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))
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The statement did not directly address the case involving Wiest.
«Freedom of religion cannot exist if believers live under threat of expulsion for practicing their faith,» Rieder said. «The OSCE and its participating States have pledged to promote tolerance and non-discrimination. These commitments must be upheld not only in word, but in action.»
OSCE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about what steps it will take to address the growing concerns of religious persecution in Turkey.
turkey,religion,world,europe,christianity religion
Ambassador Waltz: No one will be left behind in Gaza
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Michael Waltz joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss efforts to return American bodies still being held by Hamas, drug boat strikes off Venezuela and why the U.S. is a ‘hard no’ on the U.N.’s global carbon tax proposal.
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EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. that President Trump’s historic Middle East peace plan is «the only way forward» as he negotiates a resolution that would codify the Trump administration’s Gaza deal in the international body in a way that is «fully consistent with an America First agenda.»
Fox News Digital spoke exclusively to Waltz after he convened partners and allies to discuss the United States’ intention to present a resolution to the U.N. Security Council on Gaza.
The resolution will endorse the Board of Peace, set parameters for Gaza’s transitional governance and launch the International Stabilization Force outlined in the president’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.
MIKE WALTZ SEES TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN AS ‘ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION OPPORTUNITY FOR PEACE’
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz (Getty Images)
«Only President Trump has the ability to bring all sides together, just as he did at Sharm El-Sheik,» Waltz told Fox News Digital. «He’s the only person who can truly bridge the divides between the Israelis, the Palestinians and others in the region.»
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Waltz said the president’s plan is «the best chance for real peace in the Middle East in a generation.»
«And, frankly, it’s a real test for the United Nations — to step up, support the president’s plan and start implementing it,» Waltz told Fox News Digital.
«We’ve seen the death and destruction the war in Gaza caused,» Waltz said. «If we can rally the international community to come together and resolve it using the tools of the U.N., that’s absolutely the right thing to do, and it’s fully consistent with an America First agenda.
«This process of securing peace in Gaza with a Security Council resolution is really about getting the U.N. back to basics,» Waltz continued. «That’s what we’re calling it — back to basics. It’s about strictly focusing on establishing and keeping peace and, in this case, supporting what the president has already set in motion.»
World leaders, including President Donald Trump and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, pose for a photo at a world leaders summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Oct. 13, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett, Pool Photo via AP)
President Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict calls for Gaza to be a de-radicalized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors. It also calls for Gaza to be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza and more.
Under the peace plan, Israeli forces would withdraw from the region, and a temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people of Gaza will be created.
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That government will be under the oversight of a new international transitional body called the «Board of Peace,» chaired by President Trump and other members and heads of state.
The resolution would essentially make the plan international law, a U.N. source said.
As for timing, a U.N. source told Fox News Digital that negotiations typically take months in the United Nations, but the U.S. Mission is hoping to get this done in «weeks.»
«We are looking to move quickly,» the source said. «The ceasefire is fragile. We don’t want things to fall apart in any way, shape or form. The sooner we get this resolution done, the sooner countries can begin contributing troops to the stabilization force.»
U.S. President Donald Trump poses with a signed agreement during a world leaders summit focused on ending the Gaza war in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Oct. 13. (Suzanne Plunkett/Getty Images)
The source also told Fox News Digital that representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar — not members of the Security Council — presented the resolution with Waltz and the U.S. Mission to the broader Security Council.
«We think that’s really strong,» the source said. «This is about getting humanitarian aid in, stabilizing, governing and rolling up our sleeves and getting to work and having the international community pay for it.»
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The source said the resolution would create a mechanism, led by Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that would ensure «the dollars are going to be used efficiently with a private sector mentality in mind.»
Rubio has said the Trump administration is «seeing things we never thought we’d see before, like the number of countries willing to participate in this effort, be it through money or personnel, or both or expertise.
«We’ve never seen this sort of international cohesion behind something,» Rubio said. «So, we have to be pursuing those opportunities because they’re really great, historic and important.»
Meanwhile, the source said the U.S. is «in the thick of negotiations» but is «moving lightening-fast by U.N. terms.»
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to a question as he speaks to the media after visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel Oct. 24, 2025. (Getty Images)
«They do not want to be part of opposing the best chance we’ve had for peace in a generation,» the source said. «And they don’t want to play the part of bureaucratizing and then being responsible for the fighting resuming.»
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The president has described the peace plan as «the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region.»
«I believe that so strongly,» Trump said of the plan. «This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.»
israel,united nations,middle east
INTERNACIONAL
Canadian spy chief warns of alarming rise in teen terror suspects, ‘potentially lethal’ threats by Iran
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Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director Daniel Rogers, during a rare public appearance Thursday, said nearly one in 10 of the agency’s terrorism investigations include at least one person under the age of 18, an alarming trend driven by online extremism.
Since 2014, there have been nearly two dozen violent extremist attacks in Canada resulting in 29 deaths and at least 60 injuries, according to Rogers.
Worryingly, he said, nearly one in ten terrorism investigations at CSIS, the country’s domestic spy agency, include at least one «subject of investigation» under the age of 18.
In August, a minor was arrested in Montreal for allegedly planning an attack on behalf of the terrorist group Daesh, according to Rogers.
Dan Rogers, a national security and intelligence advisor, made a rare speech Thursday. (Reuters/Blair Gable/File Photo)
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Just a few months earlier, a 15-year-old Edmonton-area minor was charged with a terrorism-related offense, after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigators feared the teen would commit serious violence related to COM/764, a transnational violent online network that manipulates children and youth across widely accessible online platforms.
Rogers also noted two 15-year-olds were arrested in Ottawa for allegedly conspiring to conduct a mass casualty attack targeting the Jewish community in Canada’s capital in late 2023 and early 2024.
«Clearly, radicalized youth can cause the same harms as radicalized adults, but the societal supports for youth may help us catch radicalization early and prevent it,» Rogers said. «These tragic numbers would have been higher if not for disruptive actions taken by CSIS and our law enforcement partners.»
Multiple attacks over the last year were intercepted by Canadian authorities, officials said. (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
The CSIS joined the RCMP and intelligence partners from the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in releasing a joint public report in December, highlighting the evolving issue of young people and violent extremism.
The report provides advice to parents, guardians and others with information to help them identify early concerns and address youth radicalization before it’s too late.
«Since 2022, CSIS has been involved in the disruption of no fewer than 24 violent extremist actions, each resulting in arrests or terrorism peace bond charges,» Rogers said. «In 2024, CSIS played an integral role in the disruption of two Daesh-inspired plots.
«In one case, a father and son were allegedly in the advanced stages of planning an attack in the Toronto area. In another, an individual was arrested before allegedly attempting to illegally enter the United States to attack members of the Jewish community in New York. In these examples, and in many others I can’t discuss publicly, our counter-terrorism teams have partnered with law enforcement and saved lives.»
Canadian officials said they also blocked potentially ‘lethal threats’ by Iran. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency)
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He attributed the radicalization to «eroding social cohesion, increasing polarization and significant global events,» which he said «provide fertile ground for radicalization.»
«Many who turn to violence radicalize exclusively online, often without direction from others,» Rogers said. «They use technology to do so secretly and anonymously, seriously challenging the ability of our investigators to keep pace and to identify and prevent acts of violence.»
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Rogers also noted the CSIS collects intelligence and defends against transnational repression, previously focusing on transnational repression by the People’s Republic of China, India and others.
«In particularly alarming cases over the last year, we’ve had to reprioritize our operations to counter the actions of Iranian intelligence services and their proxies who have targeted individuals they perceive as threats to their regime,» he said. «In more than one case, this involved detecting, investigating and disrupting potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada.»
americas,national security,world,canada,tech,terrorism,media
INTERNACIONAL
Tensión entre israelíes y palestinos: el asalto a una mezquita, la última muestra de la creciente violencia colona en Cisjordania
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Un hombre observa los daños causados a la mezquita Al-Hajja Hamida tras un ataque de colonos israelíes en la aldea de Der Estya, cerca de Salfitt, Cisjordania. Foto EFECondenas al ataque
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