Following an additional interview with the prosecution, main murder suspect Emre Günaydın has returned to his original statement, where he denied that he or his friends were encouraged to commit the murders.

On 18 April 2007, Tilman Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel were killed at the Zirve publishing  house.

Günaydın and four other young men were arrested for the murders and are in Malatya E-Type prison, being tried at the Malatya 3rd Heavy Penal Court and facing life sentences. Two other men are being tried without detention.

"Guilty conscience over accusation"

When Günaydın said that they had been encouraged to commit the murders, Varol Bülent Aral and Hüseyin Yelki were arrested, too.

According to the local Güneş TV station in Malatya, Günaydın has expressed guilt over accusing Aral and has retracted that statement. He is now saying that he and his four friends committed the murders by themselves.

The last hearing of the case was on 20 February, and the next hearing is on 13 April. It has been decided to hear ten witnesses, among them Gendarmerie commander Mehmet Ülger who was on duty in Malatya at the time. Another witness to be heard is Ruhi Abat, a research assistant at Inönü University’s theology faculty, who is said to have informed the gendarmie of missionary activities.

The murders are said to have been carried out in order to prevent alleged missionary activities of the three men. (EÖ/AG)