Legal action has been launched against two foreign nationals accused of reading the Bible aloud in the visitor section of Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul.

According to the Istanbul Police Department, officers determined that the two individuals read from the Bible aloud in the mosque's visitor area on July 14.

Police identified and detained the suspects, identified by the initials I.F., 32, and V.F., 36, who were found to have entered Türkiye as tourists.

The two are under investigation on charges of inciting hatred and hostility among the public and have been transferred to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management.

Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's most visited landmarks, was reopened as a mosque in July 2020 after serving as a museum for 86 years.

Originally built as a cathedral in 537, it was converted into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

The UNESCO World Heritage site has welcomed around 25 million visitors since reopening for worship, attracting an estimated 6 to 7 million visitors annually.