Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The suspected Turkish killer of Greek-Cypriot activist Solomos Solomou in 1996 who proudly admitted he would do the same thing again if given the chance has posted a snap of him posing recently with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
During the Turkish president’s controversial visit to the northern Turkish-occupied region of Cyprus last weekend, he reportedly posed with one of the suspected killers of Solomou at a roadblock in Deryneia nearly 25 years ago.
Solomou was a Greek-Cypriot who was shot and killed while trying to climb a flagpole to remove a Turkish flag from its mast in Cyprus’s United Nations Buffer Zone on 14th August 1996.
An INTERPOL international arrest warrant has been issued against Kenan Akin, the former ‘minister’ of the self-styled republic of northern Cyprus following the Turkish invasion of 1974.
INTERPOL considers Akin a wanted criminal and have a EUR 460,000 reward out for his arrest.
International arrest warrants are outstanding for 10 other people for Solomou’s murder, according to reports.
Akin posted the photo of him posting with President Erdogan on his Facebook profile which was then published by local media.
In 2009, Akin admitted to the newspaper Proto Thema that he shot and killed the Greek-Cypriot activist in 1996.
He added: “I would shoot him again if I went back in time.”
Solomou, 26, was originally from the popular resort town of Famagusta which fell under Turkish control following the 1974 invasion and his family became displaced like thousands of others.
The Varosha suburb of Famagusta was fenced off by the Turkish Army immediately after being taken and remains fenced off today, preserved in time.
Solomou grew up as a Greek-Cypriot refugee in the town of Paralimni prior to his shooting.
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