Ex-boyfriend charged with shooting of Turkish talent show contestant Mutlu Kaya

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A Turkish man has been charged with shooting a television talent show contestant while she rehearsed in her own home.

Mutlu Kaya was shot through her window from the garden while she rehearsed for Sesi Cok Guzel – a popular television programme with a similar format to Britain’s Got Talent.

Ms Kaya’s ex-boyfriend, identified by Turkish authorities as Veysel E, has been charged with attempted murder. The 19-year-old victim is in a critical condition in hospital.

“When [the victim and her sister] … didn't open the window, he broke it, drew the curtain and shot my girl in the head,” Ms Kaya’s father Mehmet told BBC Turkish.

The attack happened in Diyarbakir province, a rural region in the south east of the country.

Turkish media reports that Ms Kaya had received death threats for singing on the television programme.