Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in Istanbul’s Samatya district on Jan 22 and 23, less than a month after an 84-year-old Armenian woman was brutally murdered in Istanbul, raising the number of violent attacks against elderly Armenian women to at least four in recent months.
The Jan. 22 attack happened around 5 p.m. when the victim, 83-year-old Sultan Aykar was about to enter her ground-floor apartment. She then saw an intruder, frightened, she fell. The attacker proceeded to kick her. Hearing her screams, neighbors came down, scaring off the masked man, reported Bianet. The neighbors described the attacker as a male between the ages of 35 and 40, with gray hair, and dressed in black. During the attack, Aykar suffered damage to her eye. She has now lost sight in that eye, despite surgery on Jan. 23. The victim’s daughter, Menzar Etik, said her mother did not have any enemies, as she was a quiet woman. Etik did not believe the attacker’s intention was robbery, as the attacker did not attempt to steal her purse, and there was nothing more than a broken TV in her apartment.
on January Jan. 23, another attack was reported on yet another elderly Armenian woman. This time the attack happened on the street, near the Samatya High School, sources reported. The two assailants ran away. The victim’s was covered with blood. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared. Community members and plainclothes policemen have been unable to find or identify the woman, the Armenian Weekly reports.
