Arrest Made in Samatya Attacks

In January, Amnesty expressed concern that Turkish authorities had dismissed the possibility of racial motivation prematurely in a string of attacks on elderly Armenian women in Istanbul.  It called on “Turkish authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the series of attacks on elderly Armenian women in Istanbul.”

It now seems that these ugly attacks may have finally ended.

Turkish media have reported that an arrest in these attacks has now been made andhave identified the suspect as Murat Nazaryan, a Turkish-Armenian who lives in the same district as the victims.    The reports say that he was identified by one of the victims and that physical evidence was found at his home.

Howard Eissenstat
St. Lawrence University