Re: Re: A strange murder in Turkey

["Ian Murray" <seamus2001@xxxxxxxx>]

> Friends,
>
> If you see anything on this murder in your country' s media, could
you please
> let me know?
>
> Best,
> Sabri Oncu
===============

Saturday August 25 1:40 PM ET

Turkish Tycoon Stabbed to Death
By BURAK BAKTIR, Associated Press Writer

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - The chairman of one of Turkey's largest
business holdings and a prominent member of its Jewish community was
found stabbed to death Saturday, police said.

A suspect apprehended a few hours later confessed to the killing of
72-year-old Uzeyir Garih, police said. The suspect's name was not
released, but local media quoted police sources as saying that he was
a mentally disturbed Turkish youth and a drug addict.

Garih headed the ALARKO group, a heating, ventilating and air
conditioning company that also does construction in Turkey and central
Asia. The group also is involved in tourism and seafood, and has joint
ventures in England, Russia, Switzerland and Austria.

He also wrote a column for the English-language Turkish Daily News in
which he supported Turkey's expanding relations with Israel and
Ankara's bid to join the European Union.

Cemetery officials found Garih's body near the grave of Marshal Fevzi
Cakmak, an independence war hero who fought invading British, French
and Greek forces in the 1920s.

Garih had left his office around noon Saturday after meeting with
Bulgaria's Deputy Premier Nikolay Vassilev, said Seyit Mehmet Buruk, a
spokesman for ALARKO.

He was found stabbed several times about two hours later, private NTV
television reported. His Mercedes was parked outside the Muslim
cemetery.

``His assassination stunned us,'' the Anatolia news agency quoted
Vassilev as saying at a news conference. ``We had our picture taken
together. But I could not imagine that (his life) would have been over
a few hours later.''

Cash and credit cards were found in his wallet, an unconfirmed news
report said.

Cemetery officials said Garih had been paying frequent visits to the
Istanbul cemetery. Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen said Garih
was visiting the grave of someone who had helped him in the past.

In his last column, which was to be published Sunday, Garih addressed
the need to restore political confidence to overcome a crippling
financial crisis that has halved the Turkish lira's value since
February.

``Trust in the government must be restored,'' private CNN-Turk
television quoted Garih as writing.

Garih was married with two children.