A Russian national was detained on Saturday on grounds of plotting to assassinate Chechen dissidents in Istanbul.
Turkish daily Milliyet reported that acting upon a tip off, Turkish police detained Makharbi Isaev in a raid on a hotel located in Istanbul's Fatih district. A 7.65mm pistol was found in 27-year-old Isaev's backpack, who arrived in Turkey on April 11 according to his passport records.
Digital documents and phone records of the suspect are being examined while National Intelligence Agency (MİT) agents have joined the investigation.
Previously on April 8, Russian nationals Iurii Anisimov, 52, and Aleksandr Smirnov, 55, were arrested in a joint operation by Istanbul police and MİT agents for their alleged role in the assassination of dissident Chechen commander Abdulvahid Edelgiriev and plotting to carry out new assassinations.
Turkey is home to a large community with Caucasian and Central Asian backgrounds, which include a significant number of dissident people and organizations in which political exiles from Russia or Central Asian republics seek refuge. These groups are often targeted by assassinations with links to spying activities.
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