The trial of five men accused of mudering three Christians in the Turkish town of Malatya, began yesterday. I have previously written about this case here.According to this report:-
The trial was adjourned after defence lawyers argued they needed more time to prepare. The hearing is now expected to resume in mid-January.
Turkey is a candidate for EU membership. The bloc has asked Ankara to protect the human rights of the country's ethnic and religious minorities, as a precondition for membership.
Germany has accused Turkey of "unacceptable intolerance" towards non-Muslims.
The murders prompted three Christian families to leave Malatya, in eastern Turkey.
Reading the above you could be forgiven for thinking that attitudes in Turkey haven't changed since the last days of the Ottoman empire!
A lawyer acting for the victims' families earlier said he was concerned by the tone of the indictment against the accused.
More than half the 31 files in the indictment focus on the missionary work of the men murdered. They include contact details of people they approached.
The lawyer believes that will help those accused plead provocation.
So Christian missionary work is provocation for murder?
The town's Protestant community now numbers only about two dozen people.
There are only around 100,000 Christians left in Turkey - less than 1% of the population.
That's the result of intimidation and persecution - a gradual decline in the Christian population.
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