Russian couple detained in Istanbul for reading the Bible inside Hagia Sophia, now a mosque

Source: Meduza

A Russian married couple told the news outlet Ostorozhno Novosti that Turkish authorities had detained them for reading the Bible inside Hagia Sophia.

Victoria, 35, and Igor F., 32, had traveled to Turkey from Moscow on vacation. On July 14, they visited Hagia Sophia — historically the Cathedral of Saint Sophia — one of the city’s main landmarks. There, Igor took out a Bible he had brought with him and began reading from it.

The couple said they were surrounded and escorted out of the mosque, then taken to a police station in the Fatih district. According to the couple, the police report states that they are suspected of “inciting hatred or enmity among the population.”

They were not allowed to return to their hotel and were ultimately transferred to a detention center for foreigners pending deportation, in the Arnavutköy district. “My wife and I were separated. We haven’t eaten in a long time and feel very unwell,” Igor said.

Russia’s Consulate General in Istanbul is handling the case, Ostorozhno Novosti reported, citing Russia’s Foreign Ministry. Diplomats are reportedly in contact with the couple’s lawyer.

Hagia Sophia was built on the orders of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and consecrated in 537. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the cathedral was converted into a mosque. In the 1930s it became a museum; in 2020 it was reconverted to a mosque, and religious services resumed.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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Russian couple detained in Istanbul for reading the Bible inside Hagia Sophia, now a mosque

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Russian couple detained in Istanbul for reading the Bible inside Hagia Sophia, now a mosque

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