One of the earlier suspects who was arrested said: “We didn’t do this for ourselves, but for our religion. Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion.”
An update on this story. “Turkey: Two More Arrested In Malatya Murders,” from Compass Direct, February 12:
ISTANBUL, February 12 (Compass Direct News) — A Turkish court has charged two more men for instigating the murder of three Christians in Malatya in 2007 — a former volunteer worker at the Christian publishing house where they were killed, and an ex-journalist suspected of ties to a group that tried to engineer a political coup.
The arrests add growing evidence to the belief that the murders resulted not just from five troubled youths incited by religious or nationalist anger, but from a larger plan to create chaos in the country and kill specific people.
A judge ordered the arrest of former journalist Varol Bulent Aral, 32, on Feb. 4 on suspicion of instigating the murder. The Malatya court had subpoenaed Aral multiple times to testify about his role in the killings, but he did not appear until last October after being arrested for other charges.
Plaintiff attorneys representing family members of the murder victims believe Aral incited the suspected ringleader of the attacks to murder by convincing him foreign missionaries were connected to the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, a domestic outlawed terrorist organization.
Aral has been connected to Ergenekon, an ultranationalist cabal of retired generals, politicians, journalists and mafia members under investigation for conspiracy in various murders. Over 100 people have been detained in connection with the network since July 2008….