It's been almost two years since Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel, and Christian publisher Tilmann Geske were brutally murdered for their faith.
On April 18, 2007, five Muslims entered a Christian publishing company and killed three believers in the southeastern province of Malatya. Two of the victims, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, were Turkish converts from Islam and the third man, Tilmann Geske, was a German citizen who had lived in Turkey for 10 years. News reports said four of the attackers admitted that the killings were motivated by both “nationalist and religious feelings.”
Yesterday I learned that another suspect has been charged in the murders. He has been identified in the planning of these murders and is apparently the instigator. This now brings the total number of people on trial to eight.
The new suspect, Varol Bulent Aral, was charged with "being the leader of a terrorist organisation" and "the murder of more than one person as part of the organisation's [sic] activities" after he was named by a defendant as the instigator.
It is a good thing to see that the court system is continuing with this case against these men. Justice is needed. But so is forgiveness and redemption. Pray that the men who committed this horrible act against our brothers in Christ would be awakened to the love and freedom that Christ so much wants them know in Him. How wonderful would it be for us to be able to call them brothers in Christ?
