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Turkey detains student over killing of priest |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 07 February 2006 07:46 |
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Turkish security forces detained a 16 years old boy on Tuesday in connection with the killing of an Italian Catholic priest which shocked the nation, the state Anatolian news agency said.
It said the boy was carrying a 9 mm pistol when he was captured in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, where Andrea Santoro, 61, was gunned down on Sunday while praying.
"A 16-year-old person is in detention at the police headquarters," Anatolian quoted state prosecutor Burhan Cobanoglu as saying. It gave no further details.
The government has strongly condemned the killing of Santoro, which coincides with increased religious tension worldwide following the publication of cartoons in some European and other newspapers lampooning the Prophet Mohammad.
A Vatican embassy spokesman in Ankara said the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is greatest") as he shot Santoro.
Pope Benedict expressed his sorrow at the killing and said he hoped it could help bring people of different religious faiths closer together.
The Vatican has joined Muslim countries, including Turkey, in condemning the cartoons of the Prophet, saying freedom of speech did not mean freedom to offend a person's religion.
Violent attacks on Christian clergy are virtually unheard of in Turkey, which views itself as a bridge between mainly Christian Europe and the predominantly Muslim Middle East.
Turkey, with a population of about 72 million, is overwhelmingly Muslim and has a tiny Christian population of just over 60,000.
Turkish newspapers said police had failed to provide Santoro with special protection even though he had received threats in the past, and they criticised the general security situation in the city.
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