Turkey grants citizenship to Moroccan killed on July 15

Reporting by Burcu Calik; Writing by Ilker Girit

ANKARA

Turkey would confer a citizenship to Jadoid Merroune, who was martyred by the putschist soldiers in Istanbul at the night of the defeated coup attempt as he was resisting the military tanks.

Merroune, 32 year-old Moroccan tourist guide, was one of the thousands of people who took to streets on July 15, 2016 in Istanbul after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Turkish people to stand against the coup attempt.

He was later killed by the putschists' gunfire near Turkish state broadcaster TRT's office in Istanbul's Harbiye district.

The government officials in Ankara, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to media, stated that Merroune would be granted the Turkish citizenship to allow his family to benefit from the martyrdom rights in Turkey.

The source said that his family is already getting monthly payment from the government as part of martyrdom rights as they do not have to be Turkish citizen. However, the citizenship would grant them opportunities like employment at state bodies, tuition-free education and interest-free housing loan.

Turkish officials did not give details on the procedure or schedule.

The defeated coup of July 15, 2016 left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured in Turkey.