ANKARA, Turkey – A 12-year-old died by hanging himself from the ceiling of his home, a hospital said Wednesday, and family members said the boy was copying Saddam Hussein's execution.
It was the second death of a youngster blamed on televised images of the deposed Iraqi dictator's Dec. 30 execution. 30. A 10-year-old boy in Houston died Sunday by hanging himself from a bunk bed after watching news reports of the execution.
A hospital official in the southeastern province of Mus said Alisen Akti was dead on arrival at a hospital. The boy died of asphyxiation after apparently hanging himself, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to journalists.
Radikal newspaper quoted the boy's father as saying that the youngster had been affected by television images of Saddam's execution.
"What kind of a problem could a 12-year-old have to want to kill himself?" Radikal quoted Esat Akti as saying.
"After watching Saddam's execution he was constantly asking 'How was Saddam killed?' and 'Did he suffer?"' Akti said. "These television images are responsible for my son's death."
The family could not be reached at their home in the village of Sutluce. No one was available at the paramilitary police headquarters, which is responsible for the area.
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