Turkey investigates alleged plot to kill Patriarch Bartholomew

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I on the 560th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans, with police arresting one suspect and still seeking two others, Today’s Zaman reported.

The probe was launched on an anonymous letter sent to the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that informed officials about the plot. According to the letter, Serdar A., who was later detained by police, and two other suspects, who have not yet been identified, were planning to assassinate Bartholomew on May 29, the anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest. The letter said the suspect traveled to Istanbul between April 15 and 20 as part of their plan. He later went back to Kayseri to inform his two friends about the details of the plot to assassinate the patriarch.

Kayseri police learned about the plot after an anonymous person recently sent a note to a police department, asking authorities to be watchful against a possible attack against Bartholomew.

Police detained Serdar A. in the Melikgazi district of Kayseri as part of the investigation and are reportedly searching for the two other suspects. During a police interrogation, the suspect denied accusations that he was planning to kill the patriarch. He said he visited his relatives during his Istanbul visit and looked for a job there.

Police sources said the suspect was detained six times before for being involved in different crimes, including threatening and racketeering individuals.

This is the second time Turkish authorities have discovered a plot to assassinate Bartholomew.

A separate case filed regarding another plot to assassinate the Istanbul-based leader of the world's Orthodox Christians was earlier merged with the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a suspected criminal network charged with plotting to overthrow the Turkish government.