One dies as Turkish mob tries to lynch rape suspect
Source: Reuters
ISTANBUL, Dec 5 (Reuters) - One man was shot dead and nearly 100 people were injured in clashes in eastern Turkey between security forces and an armed mob trying to lynch a confessed child rapist, authorities said on Tuesday. The 3,000-strong crowd fought running battles with security forces in the town of Sirnak over a 12-hour period on Monday, outside the hospital where the man was being treated for head injuries inflicted by fellow inmates in his jail cell. Police, backed by troops and paramilitary units, used tear gas and armoured personnel carriers to disperse the crowd. The dead man was a hospital employee, shot by one of the mob as they tried to storm the hospital. One paramilitary policeman was badly injured when a stone hit him in the head. Hospital authorities said the riots caused 500,000 lira ($344,000) worth of damage. The defendant has pleaded guilty to raping and killing two girls and sexually molesting six other girls. He was attacked in his jail cell on Monday and was being escorted to the hospital when the mob tried to attack him. His trial continues. Sirnak is in Turkey's impoverished, mainly Kurdish southeast region near the border with Iraq.
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