A Turkish court has ordered the imprisonment of Ahmed Barakat, who admitted to killing Syrian opposition activist Orouba Barakat and her daughter, journalist Halla Barakat, whose bodies were found three weeks ago inside their home in Istanbul.
The man was arrested on charges of “premeditated murder,” after he confessed at his trial before a court in Istanbul that he killed his two relatives.
“I killed Orouba and Halla Barakat. I accept my charges. Both of them are my relatives,” local media quoted him as saying.
Barakat said that he decided to come to Turkey following the death of his father and brother in the war in Syria.
He added that his relative Orouba helped him find work with a construction company, but he later left the job after failing to receive fair wages.
In his testimony, Ahmed said that on the night of the murder, he came to Orouba’s home to claim his wages. When Orouba did not give him the money, he stabbed her, before stabbing Orouba’s daughter Halla, who entered the house and started screaming after seeing her mother covered in blood.
He then fled to Bursa after the murder. He was arrested by police on September 30 and was later transferred to Istanbul for further questioning.
The Crime Office in Istanbul discovered that the man poured washing powders on the bodies and wrapped them in blankets to erase the DNA traces of the killer.
Security sources said the preliminary investigation did not show links between the murderer and a terrorist organization or the Syrian regime’s intelligence.
