A court in northwestern Turkey on Sunday remanded a suspect in custody for allegedly being linked to the killing of a puppy.
The suspect, identified as I.M. -- a digger machine operator, was accused of "killing a domestic animal and making it unfit".
Speaking to reporters in southern Gaziantep province, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said chief public prosecutors in Sakarya province and Sapanca district as well as the governor carried out a probe into the incident meticulously before referring the suspect to the court.
"I thank all public officials for their meticulousness," Gül said.
"I urge everybody out here, animals are our friends, nobody has the right to mistreat them. We have all kinds of legal and administrative penalties in this matter and we will increase it further."
On Friday, a puppy succumbed to its wounds in western Sakarya province after it was found in a forest with its "front feet cut with a hard object and the back feet most likely ruptured" due to its skin peeling off, a veterinarian told Anadolu Agency.
