Turkish FM confirms Paris killings internal PKK issue
ANKARA – 21.1.2013 – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu confirmed there was “key information” that the killings of three Kurdish women in Paris were an internal Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) issue.
“I can say that key information has been gathered. We can give further and more concrete information on this in the coming days,” Davutoğlu told reporters in Ankara. “That was the initial direction all along,” the foreign minister said when asked whether the killings of Sakine Cansız – one of the founders of the PKK – Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez on Jan. 9 were the result of an internal execution within the organization. “But this is a judicial process and it is not right to talk about it until reaching the ultimate verdict.”
Suspect detained in Paris killings released
One of two suspects that were detained last week in connection with the killing of three Kurdish women in Paris was released today.
The other suspect remains in custody. French police detained two suspects, aged 39 and 31, on Jan. 17 in connection with the killings, French daily Le Parisien reported Jan. 18. The suspects are reportedly residents of the Courneuve district and were born in Turkey. Reports of gun powder residue found on one of the men’s coat surfaced earlier today amid claims that one of the suspects had a 46-minute gap in his testimony. Reports failed to identify who was the suspect that was released, or whether he was the one with the reported gun powder residue.