A Turkish man wanted in connection with the beating to death of Greek Cypriot protester Tassos Isaac in 1996 was arrested in Kyrgyzstan, Turkish Cypriot media reported. Erhan Arikli was on INTERPOL’s wanted list. Isaac, 24, was beaten to death on August 11 1996 during a demonstration at the buffer zone village of Dherynia in the Famagusta district.
A report in the Cyprus mail said that Arikli was arrested at Kyrgyzstan’s main airport where he was travelling on a diplomatic ‘TRNC’ passport.
Isaac was killed while trying to help out a protester who was trapped in barbed wire. Television news showed live footage of him taking a beating with clubs, being kicked and punched by several people made international news.
Commercial counsellor at the Turkish embassy in Kyrgyzstan, Behzat Erten, was quoted as saying: “Turks living [in Kyrgyzstan] are saddened to see Arikli’s arrest in a brotherly and friendly country, following a demand from the Greek Cypriots”.
On August 14, another man Solomos Solomou was shot and killed during a demonstration following Isaac’s funeral. They were cousins. Solomou, 26, was climbing up a flagpole with the aim of taking down a Turkish flag on the illegally occupied northern side.
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