Suspect in killing of Turkish student in Poland will be tried for murder

Polish authorities are investigating the murder of a Turkish student who was stabbed in the throat while having a meal at a shopping mall in Wroclaw city on Saturday.

Furkan Kocaman, 21, a student from the Seljuk University in Konya, was in the country for the Erasmus programme.

According to the Turkish Embassy in Poland, the Polish prosecutor identified the suspect as Muhammet Emektar, who is also a Turkish citizen.

A Polish court on Tuesday decided the suspect will be remanded in custody while awaiting trial for murder. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.

Kocaman's grandfather says his relative was murdered by a PKK sympathiser.

Polish newspaper Wyborcza Wroclaw Gazette reported that some witnesses heard the 29-year-old suspect shout, "Turks must die," as he stabbed Kocaman.

The newspaper quoted Malgorzata Klaus, spokeswoman of the Wroclaw prosecutor's office as saying Kocaman was stabbed multiple times and was struck in the stomach, chest, shoulders, back, left arm and neck.

Kocaman's family are waiting for the postmortem to be completed after which the body will be repatriated. 

The Turkish Embassy in Poland says it remains in contact with Polish authorities as the investigation continues.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years and has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.