Turkish authorities detained a married couple from Russia after an incident at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti reported, citing the tourists themselves. The couple were identified as 35-year-old Viktoria and 32-year-old Igor F., who had traveled from Moscow for a vacation.
According to the couple, they visited Hagia Sophia, also known as the Church of Holy Wisdom, on July 14. There, Igor took out a Bible he had brought with him and began reading it. The couple said they were then surrounded, escorted out of the mosque, and taken to a police station in the Fatih district.
Sources cited by TASS said Istanbul police confirmed the detention. The Russians said the report filed against them states they are suspected of “inciting hatred or enmity among the population.”
The detainees said they were not allowed to return to their hotel. They were later sent to a foreign nationals holding center pending deportation in the Arnavutköy district. Igor said the spouses were separated.
“My wife and I were separated. We have not eaten for a long time and feel very bad,” Igor said.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry, as cited by Ostorozhno, Novosti, said the Russian consulate general in Istanbul is dealing with the case. According to that account, diplomats are in contact with the couple’s lawyer.
Hagia Sophia was built by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I and consecrated in 537. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into a mosque. In the 1930s, Hagia Sophia became a museum, and in 2020 it was turned back into a mosque, after which religious services resumed there.