Turkish, Jewish Tycoon Stabbed to Death

14/04/2001| IslamWeb

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Islamweb & News Agencies) - The chairman of one of Turkey's largest business holdings and a prominent member of its Jewish community was found stabbed to death Saturday, police said.(Read photo caption below)

A suspect apprehended a few hours later confessed to the killing of 72-year-old Uzeyir Garih, police said. The suspect's name was not released, but local media quoted police sources as saying that he was a mentally disturbed Turkish youth and a drug addict.
Garih headed the ALARKO group, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning company that also does construction in Turkey and central Asia. The group also is involved in tourism and seafood, and has joint ventures in England, Russia, Switzerland and Austria.
He also wrote a column for the English-language Turkish Daily News in which he supported Turkey's expanding relations with Israel and Ankara's bid to join the European Union.
Cemetery officials found Garih's body near the grave of Marshal Fevzi Cakmak, an independence war hero who fought invading British, French and Greek forces in the 1920s.
Garih had left his office around noon Saturday after meeting with Bulgaria's Deputy Premier Nikolay Vassilev, said Seyit Mehmet Buruk, a spokesman for ALARKO.
He was found stabbed several times about two hours later, private NTV television reported. His Mercedes was parked outside the Muslim cemetery.
``His assassination stunned us,'' the Anatolia news agency quoted Vassilev as saying at a news conference. ``We had our picture taken together. But I could not imagine that (his life) would have been over a few hours later.''
Cash and credit cards were found in his wallet, an unconfirmed news report said.
Cemetery officials said Garih had been paying frequent visits to the Istanbul cemetery. Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen said Garih was visiting the grave of someone who had helped him in the past.
In his last column, which was to be published Sunday, Garih addressed the need to restore political confidence to overcome a crippling financial crisis that has halved the Turkish lira's value since February.
``Trust in the government must be restored,'' private CNN-Turk television quoted Garih as writing.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Security officers carry the body of Uzeyir Garih, the chairman of ALARKO group, Turkey's largest business holding and a prominent member of Turkey's Jewish community in Istanbul's historical Eyup cemetery on Saturday Aug. 25, 2001. Garih, 72, was found slain Saturday, stabbed several times, in the cemetery. (AP Photo/Oktay Cilesiz, Anatolia)