 Police detained five more people Thursday in connection with an attack on a Christian publishing house that killed three employees, doubling the number of suspects in custody, a Turkish official said. | One group of suspects detained in the slayings Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles told investigators they carried out the killings to protect Islam. |
One group of suspects detained in the slayings Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles told investigators they carried out the killings to protect Islam, a Turkish newspaper reported.
The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether this predominantly Muslim country — which is bidding for EU membership — can protect its religious minorities. It also underlined concerns about rising Turkish nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims. "We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion," Hurriyet newspaper quoted a suspect as saying. "Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."
| "Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion." |
The paper did not name the suspect. Local media said the suspects were students, and that the residence where they were staying belongs to an Islamic foundation. On Wednesday, police detained four youths, aged 19-20, as well as a fifth who underwent surgery for head injuries after he apparently tried to escape by jumping from a window at the Zirve publishing house in the central city of Malatya.
| Local media said the suspects were students, and that the residence where they were staying belongs to an Islamic foundation. |
Malatya Gov. Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said another five suspects, detained Thursday, were of the same age as those taken into custody on the day of the attack. He did not say whether the group detained on Thursday had been at the scene of the attack, saying only that they had been picked up at "various locations." |