Have the monks from one of the last monasteries in eastern Turkey finally won their battle? In 2014, fifty properties belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church were expropriated by the government in southeast Turkey. Among them were several ancient monasteries where a dozen monks continue to live. Since then, the monks have launched a series of legal cases to recover their properties. A recent decree may finally grant them victory, according to a report in the Hürriyet Daily News in early February.

Justice Bhuyan Calls for Protection of Dissent and Personal Liberty
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has expressed concern over the growing trend of treating peaceful dissent and ordinary actions as criminal offences. Speaking at a


