Turkey's Ministry of Justice has ordered five murder suspects in the 2007 torture and murder of five employees of a publishing house to be electronically tagged and held under house arrest.
Three employees of the Zirve Publishing House who were engaged in publishing bibles were attacked, tortured murdered by five people on April 18, 2007, in Malatya, in eastern Turkey. The victims' throats were cut.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the murder "a savagery." One of the victims, Tilmann Geske, 45, was a German citizen, and Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the time that officials would do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice.
The other two victims -- Necati Aydin, 36, and Ugur Yuksel, 32 -- were Turkish converts from Islam.
In a statement released Monday, the Justice Ministry said the five, who were released on Saturday, would be under house arrest with electronic tagging.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
