Istanbul: four arrests for desecration of Greek community cemetery

Police in Turkey have arrested four people in relation to the desecration of Greek community cemetery in Istanbul last week.

Last Friday morning, staff at Aghios Eleftherios Cemetery, which serves the community of Tatavla in the Kurtulus district, noticed that holes had been dug within a fenced-off area of the cemetery.

No damage had been done to graves or the cemetery chapel.

In a statement, Istanbul police said that the illegal excavation, which involved the digging of a six-meter pit, took place at approximately 4:50 a.m..

Police traced the suspects to the suburb of Kucukcekmece, west of Istanbul. They had reached the cemetery in two cars. The suspects were found in possession of 48 pages of documents on locations and instructions for finding hidden treasure, a metal detector, six pieces of explosives used for breaking rocks, a notebook and an air gun...