Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Turkish man assaulted for missionary activities

Turkish man assaulted for missionary activities < German news | Expatica Germany
A 24-year-old street seller assaulted a man on grounds he was proselytizing Christianity, holding a knife to his throat in downtown Istanbul before surrendering to police, newspapers reported Tuesday.

The incident, the latest in a string of religiously-motivated attacks in Turkey in recent years, happened Monday on a busy avenue in Istanbul's Kadikoy district, before the eyes of dozens of passers-by.

The assailant -- identified as 24-year-old pirate CD vendor Yasin Karasu -- wrapped a Turkish flag around the head of Ismail Aydin, 35, put a knife to his throat and shouted "This is Turkey, you cannot distribute Bibles here," the Haberturk newspaper said.

The stand-off lasted for 20 minutes before the police persuaded the assailant to surrender, according to the Sabah daily.

Karasu later told the police he was angry with Aydin for converting to Christianity and engaging in missionary activities, Sabah said, while the Vatan daily suggested the assailant was mentally disturbed.


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