A man on May 3 fatally stabbed a Kurdish street musician by the name of Cihan Aymaz in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district. The perpetrator’s motive was reportedly due to Aymaz’s refusal to play a nationalist song that the former requested. A Turkish court on May 3 arrested the murderer for “intentional killing” and sent him to prison.
Aymaz’s family members stated that the musician had previously faced lawsuit for performing politically-charged songs, and they believe that the attacker’s motives were racially motivated.
Aymaz on Jan. 30 had said in a street interview that he went to court due to an adaptation song he sang. He stated, “Even if I end up in prison, I will sing it again, there is no salvation for me,” in the interview.
People’s Democratic Party (HDP) provincial co-chair Ferhat Encü said after the murder that “This is not an incident that took place over a simple response to a request, the suspect carried out this attack because our friend did not play the song ‘I’d die for my Turkey’ (Ölürüm Türkiyem). He also mentioned that Aymaz was a volunteer in the HDP. Continue
