A man who attempted to set fire to Hagia Sophia and subsequently fled the scene was arrested in Istanbul and subsequently sent to prison. The individual, who used a Bible to set the fire, reportedly suffers from mental problems and has a lengthy criminal record.
According to media reports such as Haber Turk, Turkish authorities confirmed the incident on 5 August, although it actually took place on 11 July at around 10 p.m., when the individual, hiding his face from the cameras with a red cap, entered the Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia and, once inside, set fire to what the cameras showed to be a book next to a column in front of the Mehmet II Library, the Istanbul Police Department revealed.
The book, later identified as a copy of the Bible, caused the carpet under the book to catch fire. The man left the scene in a hurry in a vehicle, but police officers stationed near Hagia Sophia were able to identify the suspect, who was later arrested. Meanwhile, the fire was quickly extinguished by security personnel before it spread.
The suspected arsonist was later identified as Mesut Güçlü, a 42-year-old resident of Istanbul’s Kağıthane district. In his statement two days after the incident, he said he was single and had three children, and claimed in his defence that he suffered from mental disorders, asking to receive treatment. The preliminary investigation found that the suspect had numerous criminal records including charges of assault, threats, insults and vehicle theft, and that he had previously been admitted to psychiatric hospitals on at least five occasions.
After being questioned by the prosecutor and appearing before a judge in Istanbul, the judge ruled that – due to the evidence presented pointing to a crime of ‘attacking places of worship’ and that the detainee had fled after the incident and was at risk of tampering with or removing evidence – he should be remanded in custody, so he was subsequently sent to prison. For its part, the General Directorate of Foundations reported in a statement that, following the incident on 11 July, the fire was extinguished in time and no significant damage was caused to the interior of Hagia Sophia.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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