The 1934 Surname Law, enacted during the early years of the Republic, continues to stand as a barrier preventing non-Muslim and diverse communities in Turkey, particularly Christians, from officially registering family names in their native languages. The centuries-old family titles and surnames of the Assyrian community were forcibly replaced with Turkish surnames following the establishment of the Republic.

A recent ruling by the Medyad (Midyat) Civil Court of First Instance and the Omid (Diyarbakir) Regional Court of Justice concerning a Assyrian family demonstrates once again that domestic legal limitations and obstacles stemming from the Surname Law remain fully in effect when it comes to representing cultural identity on official Turkish identification documents.

Members of the Assyrian "Gabriel" family, who reside in the Medyad district of Tur Abdin, which encompasses Mrde (Mardin) and surrounding provinces, as well as in Switzerland, filed a lawsuit seeking to correct their names and surnames on Turkish official records to align with their culture and family heritage.

Stating that discrepancies between official population registries in Turkey and their usage in Switzerland and social circles caused personal hardship, eight Assyrian citizens requested that their given names be updated and their surnames changed to "Gabriel" or "Gabrieli."

Given Names Approved, Surnames Blocked by the 'Surname Law'

During the proceedings at the Medyad 4th Civil Court of First Instance, the court deemed the plaintiffs' request to change their given names to their preferred Assyrian names justified and approved that portion of the petition. However, it rejected the request for the surname change.

In its decision, the court cited Article 3 of Law No. 2525 on Surnames, enacted in 1934, alongside Article 5 of the Surname Regulation, which mandates that "newly adopted surnames shall be taken from the Turkish language." Claiming that the words "Gabriel" and "Gabrieli" are not Turkish and are of Hebrew origin, the court denied the surname petition, referencing a 2011 ruling by the Constitutional Court.

Appeal Dismissed on the Merits

Following the refusal of the surname change, the plaintiffs' legal counsel filed an appeal with the Omid Regional Court of Justice. Completing its examination, the 1st Civil Chamber of the Omid Regional Court of Justice issued a final unanimous ruling on 15 May.

The appellate court noted in its decision that, pursuant to Article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code, changing a given name relies on justified grounds, and there is no legal impediment to an individual adopting a name they identify with for their personal well-being.

However, regarding the surname, the court found the first-instance ruling to be in accordance with the law, stating that under the Surname Law and Regulation, "names of foreign races and nations cannot be used as surnames" and surnames must be derived from Turkish.

Consequently, the appeal was rejected on the merits.

'Our Assyrian Identity Has Been Ignored'

Speaking to Gazete Sabro regarding the ruling, members of the family expressed that they faced an unjust decision:

With this decision, our Assyrian identity has been ignored. This is clear discrimination. Furthermore, the justification places an emphasis on 'Hebrew,' which reflects an antisemitic stance. We do not accept this decision. We will apply to the Constitutional Court [AYM] through our lawyers and defend our rights to the end against this injustice. If we receive a negative outcome from the Constitutional Court, our next step will be the European Court of Human Rights [ECHR], since this constitutes a violation of human rights.

There are numerous precedents established in the past regarding this issue. We expect those precedents and our rightful entitlements to be applied today.