Armenian Surb Garabet Church cemetery vandalized in Istanbul

ArmInfo.An act of vandalism was committed at the Surb Garabed Armenian Cemetery in  the Baglarbashi neighborhood of Istanbul's Uskudar district as reported by the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinoples on its Facebook page.

According to the source,  the incident occurred on the night of July  7-8. An unknown person climbed over the cemetery wall, entered the  grounds, and damaged six gravestones as well as the cemetery  fountain. 

" The incident deeply hurt members of the community, especially those  whose loved ones are buried in this cemetery. The district council  immediately contacted the relevant authorities, which launched legal  proceedings to establish the identity of the perpetrator and bring  him to justice. The Patriarchate condemns the attack committed  against the sacred values and eternal resting places of our  community," the statement reads. 

" We thank the relevant authorities, which continue their work to  clarify the circumstances of the incident.  We hope that the  perpetrator will be brought to justice," the statement continued.

According to open sources, Uskudar is one of the historic districts  of Istanbul, where tens of thousands of Armenians lived before the  Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.