Russian tourists detained for reading Bible in Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia. Photo: UOJ

On July 14, 2026, two Russian tourists were detained in Istanbul after one of them began reading the Bible inside the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Turkish outlet Turizm Ekonomi reported on the incident, citing information published in the Russian media.

The couple – 35-year-old Viktoria and 32-year-old Igor – had traveled from Moscow for a vacation. While visiting Hagia Sophia’s upper gallery, the man took out a Bible he had brought with him and began reading it. According to the couple, security officers then surrounded them and escorted them from the building.

The tourists were taken to a police station in Istanbul’s Fatih district. According to the police report, the couple are suspected of violating Article 216 of the Turkish Criminal Code – “inciting hatred or hostility among the population or degrading a section of the public.”

Viktoria said she had not known that reading the Bible was prohibited in the part of the building open to tourists.

The couple were later transferred to a migrant detention center in the Arnavutköy district ahead of possible deportation. They said they were separated, their belongings were taken for inventory, and they were not allowed to return to their hotel.

The Russian Consulate General in Istanbul is handling the case and remains in contact with the couple’s lawyer.

Hagia Sophia was built in the sixth century as a Christian cathedral. Following the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into a mosque. In 1934, the building was designated a museum, but in 2020 the Turkish authorities reopened it for Muslim worship.

As previously reported by the UOJ, Turkey condemned the “desecration” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli minister.

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