Police probe suspicious house fire on Kınalıada

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The Kınalıada Police Department has launched an investigation into a house that burnt down last week allegedly caused by arson.

A house on Istanbul’s Kınalıada island, which is mostly populated by Armenians, was set on fire by an unidentified person or persons on March 30. Also, the personal property of the homeowner, Vrej Israilyan, was found scattered in quarries on the island. The police said the possibility of arson was high but that more information could not be provided yet for the safety of the investigation.

Israilyan said they had learned the news a few days after the fire, since they only used the house in summer. Israilyan, who has been an inhabitant of the island for 56 years, said it was the first time such an incident happened on Kınalıada. “I haven’t done anything wrong to anyone. I don’t have any enemies or a debt issue, either. I cannot understand why this happened to me.”

Israilyan said the house had suffered about 20,000 Turkish Liras of material damage in the fire, adding that they had felt great sorrow and anxiety after the incident.

Israilyan also said one of their neighbors had witnessed the incident.

“He says he witnessed the event, but he informed neither the fire department nor us during the incident. Maybe he was afraid, we don’t know,” Israilyan said.