An elderly Greek man has been found dead, after being tied, tortured and murdered in his house in Evlambio, Imvros, which is home to a small minority of Greeks, after the island was ceded to Turkey under the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
According to reports, one man has been arrested and another three are under investigation after 86-year-old Zaferis Pinaris was found dead in a pool of blood.
Turkish media claim it was a robbery that went wrong, as the perpetrators believed Mr Pinaris hid a large fortune in his home, however, members of the Greek community are not convinced, with many Greeks being killed in the 1960’s and 1970’s, during high tensions between Greece and Turkey.
The elderly man was well known in the area, having previously owned a small store in the village and neighbours say he was loved by the entire community.
The man’s body has been transferred to a morgue and will undergo an autopsy, as investigations continue.
The Turkish Mayor of Imvros sent a message of condolence to the small Greek community, which now consists of only a few hundred, made up of mostly elderly people.
