TEN ARRESTED OVER MURDERS AT CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING HOUSE IN TURKEY

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
April 19, 2007 Thursday 8:37 AM EST

DPA x Turkey Crime Media Ten arrested over murders at Christian
publishing house in Turkey Ankara Ten people have been arrested in
connection with the stabbing murders on Wednesday of three people at
a Christian publishing house in the Turkish town of Malatya.

Around five attackers raided the third floor office of Zirve Publishing
House on Wednesday afternoon binding the three victims, a German and
two Turks, by hand and foot and slashing their throats.

Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene, the third died
in hospital.

The three dead were named as Necati Aydin, 35, Ugur Yuksel, 32, and
German national Tilmann Geske, 43. Yuksel’s body was handed over to
relatives Wednesday night and was buried in his home town of Elazig
on Thursday.

A fourth man was being treated in a local hospital for injuries
sustained after either jumping out of a window or being thrown out.

Maltaya Governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz told reporters on Thursday that
a large-scale police operation was underway but refused to speculate
whether the 10 arrested were members of any organized group.

Dasoz also refused to comment on speculation that the person who
fell from the window may in fact have been one of the attackers,
saying police had not had a chance to interview the man because he
was still receiving treatment in hospital. Dasoz said the 10 people
in custody had been arrested at various places around the city.

The stabbings are the latest in a string of attacks on Christians in
Turkey. In February 2006 a teenager shot dead an Italian priest in

the Black Sea city of Trabzon and earlier this year Turkish
nationalists killed the Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

Isa Karatas, the speaker for the Union of Turkish Churches who knew
one of the victims, Necati Aydin, said it was very clear they were
killed for their beliefs.

"Of course they had been receiving threats," Karatas told the Turkish
Daily News. "Is it possible to evangelize in Turkey and not get
threatened? Their only guilt was believing in Jesus and being open
about it. They died for their faith."