The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday condemned the desecration of the Greek Orthodox Cemetery of Saint Eleftherios in İstanbul, calling the act an affront to the memory and history of the Greek minority in Turkey.
The desecration was discovered on Friday in İstanbul’s Feriköy neighborhood, where Turkish police found evidence of illegal excavation at the cemetery.
Authorities reported that one grave had been dug out by approximately six meters. Police detained four suspects, identified only by the initials V.Ş, N.S, M.A. and A.A. The suspects were found with documents related to treasure hunting, six explosive devices used for breaking rocks, a field scanning device and various other items including pottery fragments and a pneumatic gun.
The suspects allegedly believed there was treasure buried next to the cemetery but found no material evidence during the excavation. The Turkish police have launched an investigation into the incident, with the suspects facing charges of damaging places of worship and cemeteries.
In a statement released on Saturday the Greek Foreign Ministry expressed its unequivocal condemnation of the incident and urged Turkish authorities to take appropriate action against those responsible.
The ministry’s statement highlighted the importance of protecting the cultural and historical heritage of the Greek minority in Turkey and emphasized that such acts of desecration cannot be tolerated. The ministry called on the Turkish government to ensure the protection of religious and historic sites and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Greek Orthodox population in İstanbul, once a thriving community with deep historical roots dating back to the Byzantine Empire, has shrunk dramatically over the last century due to significant political and social upheaval.
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Greek community remained an important part of the city under Ottoman rule, centered around the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
However, the rise of Turkish nationalism and events such as the İstanbul Pogrom of 1955, in which Greek homes, stores and churches were violently attacked, led to a mass exodus of Greeks from the city.
As a result, the population, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, has now dwindled to a few thousand. One of the ongoing challenges is the neglect of cultural and religious sites.