Arrests Made in ‘Bible’ Killings

Suspects Seized in Turkey ‘Bible’ Killings
Written by The Media Line Staff
Published Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Media Line
The Turkish police has arrested several people in connection with the gruesome killings of three Christians at a bible publishing house on Wednesday.

Attackers slit the throats of the victims, who include a German citizen, at the publishing house in the eastern province Malatya. The bodies were found blindfolded with their throats cut, their hands tied behind their backs and their feet bound.

Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu condemned the killings and called them “an attempt to deal a blow to the atmosphere of peace, stability and tolerance,” according to the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman.

One of the assailants was injured after jumping from the building. Four people were arrested in connection to the attack, but officials suspect there were at least six people involved.

Observers said the nature of the attack suggested it could have been the work of a local Islamist group.

Turkish nationalists have in the past protested outside the publishing house building, which distributes bibles and other Christian literature, accusing it of trying to convert people to Christianity.

The murders highlight the challenges facing the secular Turkey in its bid to become a member of the European Union.

Fewer than one percent of Turkey’s 70 million inhabitants are Christian.

Explore posts in the same categories: Arrests, Christians, Turkey