‘We demand freedom for priest Aho Bileçen’

* Photo: Gazete Sabro

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Taken into custody as part of a "terror investigation" in Mardin's Nusaybin district and briefly arrested in 2020, Mor Yakup Church's priest Aho (Sefer) Bileçen was sentenced to 2 years, 1 month in prison in early April in the trial where he was charged with "aiding the organization".

Syriac organizations and politicians in Europe have launched a petition for Bileçen, saying, "We demand freedom for Monk Aho, Sefer Bileçen."

As reported by Gazete Sabro, the petition launched on change.org in German, French and English reads as follows:

"Monk Aho Sefer Bileçen was arrested on 09.01.2020 for alleged terrorist support of the PKK in eastern Turkey, Tur Abdin.

"On 07.04.2021 he was sentenced in absentia to 2 years and 1 month imprisonment. His offence was to have handed 'bread and water' on request to two unknown persons in the hot summer of 2018. These persons have subsequently turned out to be members of the banned PKK.

"We demand that the Turkish government release and drop all charges against the monk, who only acted according to his values and gave bread and water to those who asked for it."

* Click here to read/sign the petition

What happened?

Sefer (Aho) Bileçen, the priest of Mor Yakup Church, was detained along with 10 others in Nusaybin, Mardin on January 9, 2020. Arrested a day later, he was released on January 14 upon the objection to his arrest. Along with him, 12 people, including Üçköy village head Joseph Yar and Musa Taştekin, a Syriac citizen who returned to Turkey after years, were detained.

In arresting Bileçen, the prosecutor's office referred to the statement of an informant and a gendarmerie report indicating that "the members of the organization had entered the monastery" in 2018. Bileçen was charged with "being a member of the organization." After he was arrested, Bileçen spoke to the members of the Urfa Bar Association's Human Rights Commission and shared the following message via his attorneys:

"Two members of the organization came to the monastery in 2018. They asked me for food. And I gave it. It was detected afterwards. In response to this, the Gendarmerie Commander met me through the metropolitan bishop. I did not deny it. I wanted security measures to be taken so that this incident would not happen again. But no security measures were taken.

"I thought that the case was closed after the report was taken down. I would give no matter who came to my door. I need to do it religiously and philosophically. I cannot lie as I am a priest. I did it not in order to aid an organization, but due to my faith. Philosophically, I cannot tip off, either. It is also religiously the case. I do not leave the monastery anyway."

Bileçen was sentenced to 2 years, 1 month in prison in early April 2021 in the trial where he was charged with "aiding the organization". (EMK/SD)