Turkish soldier killed for Armenian origin

December 15, 2011 - 18:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ethnic Armenian Sevag Şahin Balıkçı was murdered for his Armenian origin, parents of the deceased said.

“Though 7.5 years have passed since our son’s death, we still have no answers to a number of questions,” they said.

Sevag Şahin Balıkçı, 25, was killed in a Turkish military unit on April 24, 2011. As Turkish media reports, the Armenian was killed after the gunshot wound he received while playing a practical joke with his co-serviceman.

On the day of Balıkçı’s death, an order was given to fence the military unit he served at with a barbed wire.

Usually, the fencing is preceded by the soldiers’ unloading their weapons under the commander’s supervision. However, on April 24, none of the commanders made sure the weapons were unloaded. Kivanc Agaoglu claims to inadvertently have pressed the trigger and killed Sevag. Agaoglu was taken under arrest.