The Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned killing of three Muslim students in Carolina by an extremist attacker demanding practice of justice by US officials regarding the case.
Gunned down were newlyweds Deah Barakat, 23, a student at the University of North Carolina's dentistry school, and his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, set to enter the school in the fall, along with her visiting sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, a sophomore at North Carolina State University.
They were shot and killed on Tuesday at an apartment complex near the University of North Carolina by Craig Hicks, 46.
Hicks shot all three students in the head and later turned himself in. He has been charged with three counts of murder.
According to reports, Hicks' Facebook postings were full of scorn for religion in all forms.
The killing received massive reaction by both Muslim and non-Muslim people both inside and outside the US.
Referring to the incident as “heartbreaking,” the Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham condoled with “families of the three victims as well as all Muslims around the world and followers of other Abrahamic religions or those who were influenced by the sad event.”
She expressed “deep sorrow over the spread and targeted expansion of Islamophobia.”
Afkham also urged the US officials to practice justice and restore the rights of the victims’ families.
Noting that the world community is responsible to maintain and promote religious and human values in all societies, Afkham said “Mass media could play a key role in outlining Islamic aspirations and preventing practice of extremism” in every levels of social life.
One of the victims was a dental student of the UNC who helped collect financial aid for treatment of Turkish refugees.
Families of the victims wanted the US government to prosecute the murders as a hate crime to prove the killer acted out of hatred for his victims' religion.
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