Two Istanbul residents, Tolga Inci and Ahmet Balyemez, have founded Turkey’s first Atheists’ Union, to fight for the rights of followers.      

According to Inci, being an atheist is a crime in Turkey in recent times.

“The phrase ‘I am an atheist’ has begun to be perceived [in Turkey] as an offense to religious sentiments. Now, however, not a single atheist will feel alone,” he said, reported ITAR-TASS news agency of Russia.  

The organization focuses on some lawsuits that have been brought against well-known Turkish public figures, and because of their stance toward religion.

For his part, Balyemez noted that previous attempts also had been made to unite Turkey’s atheists, but to no avail.