Russians detained for reading the Bible at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque are now back in Russia

Two Russian tourists — Victoria, thirty-five, and Igor, thirty-two — have returned to Moscow after a brief detention in Istanbul. Meduza reports the couple was held for reading the Bible inside Hagia Sophia on July 14. After authorities escorted them from the mosque and took them into custody, they were charged with inciting hatred — a violation of Turkish law that treats conspicuous reading of non-Muslim religious literature inside an active mosque as disruptive. The offense carries up to a year in prison, and deportation was likely. On July 17, after three days in a detention center, they boarded a flight home — what began as a vacation becoming an unplanned international incident.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton