Yusuf Akbulut
Yusuf Akbulut, is a Syriac Orthodox priest from St. Mary's Church in Diyarbakır, Turkey.
He was arrested by Turkish authorities after stating in a newspaper interview that he believed Armenians, Assyrians/Syriacs and Greeks were the victims of a genocide by the Ottoman Empire.
A native of Hah, a village in Midyat district, Father Yusuf Akbulut was approached in October 2000 by reporters from the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet and questioned him about his views regarding the Armenian Genocide. Father Akbulut responded that not only Armenians but also Assyrians/Syriacs were massacred and, as a direct consequence of his response being made public, he was arrested and charged with inciting racial hatred. He was released in 2001, after Turkey came under pressure from human rights groups.
