Man arrested for attempt to set fire to Armenian church over pandemic

 Istanbul police detained a man for attempting to burn the entrance door of an Armenian church in the city’s Bakırköy district, Sözcü newspaper reported on Saturday.

The fire at the Dzınunt Surp Asdvadzadzni Armenian Orthodox Church was quickly extinguished and a police investigation caught the suspect through security camera footage.

The man told police he tried to burn down the church because he believed it “brought the coronavirus (to Turkey),” Sözcü said.

The man was reported to suffer from psychological problems, Sözcü said.

Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate released a statement over the incident, saying the city’s police officials were quick to contact them over the incident and express their regret.