Man suspected in vandalism on Armenian Church of Istanbul detained

YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. A suspect who conducted a racist attack on the Holy King Armenian Church in Kadikoy, a district in Istanbul, Turkey, has been detained on May 2, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The Police found him in a derelict building, where he was hiding. It is reported the suspect suffers psychological problems and before the attack on the Church he made two suicide attempts.

On May 1 Turkey’s interior ministry released a statement over the incident according to which minister Süleyman Soylu, after being notified over the vandalism on the Armenian Church, visited vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, head of the Church’s foundation Aram Bukucuyan and Kadikoy district governor Mustafa Ozarslan. The Turkish minister informed that the law enforcement agencies are taking the necessary measures to find the perpetrators of the attack.

The Holy King Armenian Church in Kadikoy, a district in Istanbul, Turkey, has been vandalized overnight April 30. Images posted on social media show how the vandals sprayed “Bu Vatan Bizim, meaning “This Fatherland Is Ours” in Turkish on the church walls. The vandals also dumped a big amount of trash in front of the gates.

English –translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan