In a letter, US Senators and MPs called for the intervention of the International Religious Freedom Committee (USCIRF) against Turkey on the occasion of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Senators John Sarbanes and Gus Bilirakis led the group of lawmakers, who have called on the USCIRF to make a concerted effort to hold the Erdogan government accountable for repeated violations of religious freedom and human rights.

“Despite international condemnation, the Turkish state continues to be involved in chronic, terrible, systematic violations of the religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” the statement said, adding that “the Turkish state continues to reject the legal status and identity of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”

They also emphasise that Ankara with its decisions violates not only the freedom of conscience, faith, and religion for all Greek Orthodox Christian citizens of Turkey, but also for the 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide who fall under the spiritual leadership of the Patriarch.

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