Turkey: Armenian youth with autism beaten almost to death

A young Armenian with autism was severely beaten by a group of men in Istanbul, Turkey, last week, journalist Ceylan Sever said in her tweet on Friday.

She told that a man assaulted 21-year-old Arlen Demirhan, reportedly accusing him of gazing at his wife suggestively, and Demirhan was hospitalized by the man and his friends.

Sever added that Demirhan had to undergo a surgical operation after the violent incident in order for his bladder to function normally again.

A suspect was captured, only to be released.

Garo Paylan, Armenian MP for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), said:

"Arlen, a young man with autism, was attacked by five people in Uskudar last week. The incident is likely to be a hate crime as he was beaten almost to death, and no effective investigation has been launched to capture the assailants. Was Arlen beaten almost to death because he is an Armenian?"