Houses of three Alevi families in Sultangazi district of Istanbul were marked with crosses and a writing “You will die”.

The threatened families called the police and informed about the incident by unidentified perpetrators. Police units then came to the scene and for fingerprint inspection.

Similar attacks targeting Alevis have been increasingly witnessed in Turkey during recent weeks. The last one in Istanbul coincided with the 41st anniversary of the Maraş massacre perpetrated on 19-26 December 1978.

The attacks are encouraged by the Turkish government that systematically makes hate speech against the Kurds, Alevis and all those “otherized”, targeting and putting pressure on the mentioned communities.