Report: Turkish military linked to murders of priest, other Christians
Sept 26, 2013: Intelligence documents unsealed during a Turkish criminal trial have
linked the Turkish military to high-profile murders of Christians in 2006 and 2007,
according to World Watch Monitor, a news site that reports on the persecution of Christians.
In 2006, Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary priest, was shot at
his parish. The following year, Armenian Christian journalist Hrant Dink was murdered,
and the Zirve Publishing House massacre took place. During the massacre, two Turkish
Christians – both converts from Islam – and a German Christian were tortured before
being killed.
Secret military units reportedly planned the murders in order
to destabilize the nation and help bring down the government of pro-Islamist Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in office since 2003. (Source: CWN)