Turkish police may have assisted in murder of Christian bible publishers
Turkey has launched an investigation into alleged collusion between police officers and at least one of the suspects charged with killing three Christians earlier this year at a publishing house that produces Bibles, an official said Saturday.You know that Turkey is moving back to Islam when their police turn mutaween, and is much less likely to protect Christians and Judaists living and working there.
Two senior police inspectors will be assigned to investigate whether any officers provided assistance to the suspects, an Interior Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He did not provide further details.
The three Christians - a German and two Turks - were killed in the southern city of Malatya on April 18. The killings - in which the victims were tied up and had their throats slit - drew international condemnation and added to Western concerns about whether Turkey can protect its religious minorities.
Five people were arrested and charged with murder. The trial opened last month, but was quickly adjourned until Jan. 14 because defence lawyers requested more time to prepare their arguments.
The Interior Ministry decided to open an investigation after several newspapers published stories Saturday alleging co-operation between police and at least one of the suspects.
Radikal newspaper quoted two of the suspects, Abuzer Yildirim and Salih Guler, as saying in their testimonies that a third suspect Emre Gunaydin told them that he had met with police officials and learned about the locations of Christian churches in the city.
“I asked him who are the police chiefs that you are speaking to, he said: ‘Don’t ask, take it easy,”‘ Radikal quoted Yildirim as saying.
Others on the subject include Bent Notes, Hyscience, Don Singleton.
Labels: Asia, Christianity, islam, turkey