The two Greeks who have been detained in Istanbul since Holy Thursday are not being prosecuted for displaying the Greek flag at Hagia Sophia, but for the written message “Orthodoxy or Death,” Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said while responding to a parliamentary question from independent MP Giorgos Manousos.

According to Gerapetritis, the two Greeks are accused of inciting hatred and hostility, which “does not concern exclusively the display of the flag, but the written message it contained.” He also distinguished the case from that of six cadets from the Hellenic Air Force Academy who had displayed a flag at the same site in December 2024 and were later released.

The two Greeks were arrested on Holy Thursday and are being held in separate correctional facilities in Istanbul. According to Gerapetritis, the Greek Consulate General remains in regular contact both with the detainees and with their legal defense team. He added that the government is seeking either a swift trial or the replacement of pretrial detention with restrictive conditions.

For his part, Manousos spoke of a “fearful attitude toward Turkey” and demanded their immediate release, recalling that a Turkish politician had raised a Turkish flag in Syntagma Square in 2022 without facing any consequences.