Istanbul Armenian Church Vandalized with Hate Graffiti

ISTANBUL — Another Armenian church in Istanbul, Turkey, has been vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople said on Facebook.

Unknown perpetrators have spray painted hate graffiti in English and Arabic on the exterior wall of the Surp Hreshdagabet Armenian Church in the neighborhood of Balat.

The local council members reported Archbishop Aram Ateshian on the case of vandalism. The council also informed the security authorities on the incident.

This is not the first incident, in which Armenian institutions have been the target of graffiti and vandalism in Istanbul in recent years.

Recently, the walls of the Armenian Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Istanbul’s Zeinlink district were vandalized with hate graffiti.

In April 2018 photos of graffiti reading “This homeland is ours” spray-painted on the exterior wall of the Armenian Surp Takavor Church and a pile of trash dumped in front of the church’s door began circulating on social media and various Turkish news outlets.

In 2016, the exterior walls of the Bomonti Mkhitarian Armenian School of Istanbul were vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti reading “One night, we suddenly will be in Karabakh.”