Turkish Daily considers imperfect investigation of Armenian women attacks in Samatya

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS: Besides Murat Nazaryan, arrested for the attacks on the Armenian old women in Samatya of Istanbul, there could be more criminals in this case. As reported by Armenpress, this was stated in the Turkish Radikal Daily.

“Taking into account the testimonies of the witnesses, I do not believe that the crimes were committed only by one person. I think that the investigation was imperfect. Upon finding the Armenian criminal the legal case was closed”, - said the lawyer of Murat Nazaryan Eren Keskin. It was found out that the criminal case against Murat Nazaryan was instituted only for the murder of the 84-year-old Maritsa Küçük. The claim on attacking the house of Sultan Akyar was withdrawn.

The Radikal publishes that according to the data it has, during the investigation Murat Nazaryan was questioned only on the case of Maritsa Küçük’s murder. No other questions were asked. In his turn Nazaryan said that he had not ever known Maritsa Küçük.

Taking into account all the facts and especially the fact that Murat Nazaryan was the only responsible person in Maritsa Küçük’s murder, the Radikal emphasizes that besides Murat Nazaryan, arrested for the attacks on the Armenian old women in Samatya of Istanbul, there could be more criminals in this case.

One of the women, 87-year-old Turfanda Aşık, lost an eye, while the other woman was robbed and severely injured. On December 28, 2012, Maritsa Küçük was stabbed seven times before her throat was slit at her home in Samatya. Two other attacks were carried out in the same month against elderly Armenian women in the Samatya and Bakırköy districts as well. Most recently, 83-year-old Sultan Akyar was attacked in Samatya, after which she underwent eye surgery. The blood on an envelope found in Maritsa Küçük’s bag belongs to Murat Nazaryan, adding that the women who survived the attacks in Samatya identified him as the assailant.

The Police of Istanbul arrested Murat Nazaryan on March 4, who, according to the Turkish Police, attacked the old Armenian women to “rob them”. The Istanbul Police’s statement says that the 40-year-old accused was earlier condemned for such crimes.

Earlier the Turkish mass media informed that the criminal did not try to rob the victims. Many public figures expressed their opinion that the crimes were carried out on ethnic ground, in the framework of the actions of the Turkish authorities to frighten the Armenians towards the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.