The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern over the reports of attacks on Armenian churches, threats against the Hrant Dink Foundation in Turkey.
“USCIRF is concerned by reports of attacks on Armenian churches, threats against the Hrant Dink Foundation and other incidents contributing to a sense of fear and insecurity among religious and other minorities in Turkey,” the Commission said in a Twitter post.
The statement comes after two Armenian churches in Istanbul were attacked withing weeks. In early May a man tried to set fire to a church gate. In a more recent case the attacker ripped a cross off the gate of another Armenian church.
Hrant Dink Foundation announced on Sunday it received a written death threat via email.
A resident of the central city of Konya was shortly arrested at his home on suspicion of sending threatening messages.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
