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Pompeo Urges Turkey to Maintain the Status of Hagia Sophia as Museum

An aerial view of deserted streets around Hagia Sophia during a two-day curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. (Reuters)
An aerial view of deserted streets around Hagia Sophia during a two-day curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. (Reuters)
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Pompeo Urges Turkey to Maintain the Status of Hagia Sophia as Museum

An aerial view of deserted streets around Hagia Sophia during a two-day curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. (Reuters)
An aerial view of deserted streets around Hagia Sophia during a two-day curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday urged Turkey to continue to maintain the status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as a museum, a day before an expected court ruling that may give the legal foundation to groups asking to restore its status as a mosque.

Hagia Sophia was the main cathedral in Christendom for 900 years before becoming a mosque for 500 years until 1934, when it was converted into a museum.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a building at the heart of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and today one of Turkey’s most visited monuments.

In a statement on the issue, Pompeo first praised the Turkish government for running the building “in an outstanding manner” as a museum but cautioned that a change in its status would diminish its legacy.

“We urge the Government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey, and to ensure it remains accessible to all,” Pompeo said.

The court is set to rule on Thursday on a challenge to its current status that disputes the legality of its conversion into a museum in 1934 in the early years of the modern secular Turkish state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

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Pro-Palestinian Activists Due to Appear Court after Damaging Planes at RAF Base

Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
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Pro-Palestinian Activists Due to Appear Court after Damaging Planes at RAF Base

Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Four people are set to appear in a London courtroom on Thursday over charges connected with an incident in which pro-Palestinian protesters damaged two Royal Air Force planes with red paint and crowbars.

The charges come after the group Palestine Action said two of its members entered RAF Brize Norton on June 20 and used electric scooters to approach two Voyager jets used for air-to-air refueling. The protesters used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray paint into the planes’ jet engines and caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage of the incident, The Associated Press said.

The four, all between the ages of 22 and 35, are charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the UK, counter-terror police said in a statement. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue that that the offenses have a “terrorist connection,” police said.

Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense contractors in the UK and other sites linked to the war in Gaza. Following the incident at RAF Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. The measure means it will be a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action rejects that assertion, saying its protests are designed to end international support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.