Father Daniel (Edip) Savci has been kidnapped in Tur Abdin - South-East Turkey
14:00
pm, Father Daniel (Edip) Savci, a monk of the Syriac Orthodox Church, was kidnapped in
Tur Abdin region which is in the South East of Turkey.
The monk Rev. Father Edip (Daniel) Savci is the abbot and residing at the Monastery of Mor Jacob in the Village of Saleh (Bar tepe in Turkish), which is situated only about 15 minutes driving distance from Midyat.
Father Daniel (Edip) Savci, while driving back from Midyat to the village of Saleh
(Bar tepe in Turkish), his vehicle was stopped and he was kidnapped by some unknown
persons at around 14:00pm. His empty vehicle was later found about 2 km away from Saleh on the road; his spectacles and hat were some of his belongings that were left inside the vehicle.
The location where Father Daniel was kidnapped is only about 15 minutes away from a large Turkish military base (Midyat Turkish Military Base) consisting thousands of soldiers and military personnel.
This is not the only incident that the Christian community has suffered in Turkey. Recently, in 2006 Priest Father Andrea Santoro in Trabzon, in 2007 the Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul and the German missionary Tilman Geske with Necati Aydin and U ur Yüksel in Malatya were murdered as a result of some brutal attacks. We fear that Father Daniel Savci could be the last victim of this chain of brutal incidents against the Christians in Turkey.
Sources: European Syriac Union
Other links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7118475.stm