ISTANBUL — Turkish authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the vandalism of six graves and a fountain at the historic Surp Garabed Armenian Cemetery in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, prosecutors said on Friday.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation was launched after the damage was reported on 8 July. Following what it described as an extensive investigation, police identified and detained a suspect, identified only by the initials M.K., on 9 July.
The suspect was referred to a criminal court with a request for pretrial detention and was formally remanded in custody on 10 July. Prosecutors said the investigation is continuing. They have not disclosed a possible motive for the vandalism.
The attack occurred during the night of 7–8 July, when an intruder climbed over the cemetery wall and damaged six gravestones and a fountain, prompting condemnation from the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, which described the incident as an attack on the community’s sacred heritage.
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