Fuat Deniz ( syr, ܦܘܐܕ ܕܢܝܙ; 24 July 1967 – 13 December 2007) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

sociologist and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

descent. Until his murder in 2007, he worked as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in sociology at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Örebro University. Deniz was born as the oldest son into an

family in the village of

Dargeçit Dargeçit ( ku, Kerboran) is a town and seat of the Dargeçit District of Mardin Province in Turkey. The town is principally populated by Kurds of the Erebiyan tribe and had a population of 14,976 in 2021. Neighborhoods The town is divided int ...

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin ( syr, ܛܽܘܪ ܥܰܒ݂ܕܺܝܢ or ܛܘܼܪ ܥܲܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the borde ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He came to Sweden with his parents as an eight-year-old and grew up in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

. In his youth he was active in the Assyrian Youth Federation in Sweden, which he also co-founded, and was also a diligent writer for the Swedish National Assyrian Federation's magazine ''Hujådå''. He earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in sociology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

in 1999. In his doctoral thesis, titled ''En minoritets odyssé'' ("The Odyssey of a Minority"), he discussed the experiences of Assyrians coming to Sweden in the 1970s. Deniz was a well-known figure among the Assyrian community in Sweden and was also internationally known for his research on the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish t ...

. On 11 December 2007, at approximately 15.30

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, Deniz was attacked and

stabbed A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs fro ...

in the back of his neck inside Örebro University. He died two days later from his injuries at Örebro University Hospital. Early on there were some speculations in the media about a possible political motive behind the murder due to Deniz' research on the Assyrian genocide. On 16 January 2008, a 42-year-old man from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden, was arrested on suspicion for the murder. The suspect, who according to the police is a close relative of Deniz, has admitted to the stabbing but denied any intent to kill. The police said that an old feud between the two family members was the most likely motive for the killing and ruled out any political connections.

Works

* * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deniz, Fuat 1967 births 2007 deaths Academic staff of Örebro University People from Dargeçit People from Örebro Swedish people of Assyrian or Syriac descent Swedish sociologists Swedish male writers Swedish murder victims People murdered in Sweden Deaths by stabbing in Sweden Turkish people of Assyrian descent 2007 murders in Sweden