Turkey court overturns decision to expropriate Armenian church

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s Supreme Administrative Court has overturned the decision to expropriate the Surp Giragos Armenian church in Diyarbakir, Ermenihaber.am reports.

A list of lands and buildings in the Sur district were expropriated by the Turkish government in March 2016. An “urgent expropriation” cabinet decision was taken regarding 6,300 plots of land, citing an issue of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey, the country’s official journal that publishes new legislation and official announcements. The Surp Sarkis Chaldean Church, the Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church, and the city’s Protestant church were also reportedly expropriated.

The Surp Giragos Armenian Foundation appealed the decision of the Council of Ministers with the Supreme Administrative Court. The latter, in turn, ruled to cancel the decision, citing property rights cases from the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

According to multiple reports, the Armenian Catholic Church of Diyarbakir had suffered extensive damages during clashes between Turkish armed forces and Kurdish militants. A series of images depicting the extent of the damage to the church were posted on the “Armenian Church Surp Giragos and Surp Sarkis in Diyarbakir” Facebook page.