Two days ago, the prosecutor in the trial of defendants accused of killing 37 people in a car bombing in the capital Ankara, asked for prison terms amounting to 7,518 years in total. The attack on March 13, 2016 is blamed on the PKK terrorist group. A bomb-laden car exploded at a bus stop in Güvenpark, one of the capital's busiest locations, killing passersby and passengers waiting for buses.
The prosecutor asked the court to hand down 37 instances of aggravated lifetime imprisonment for four defendants and asked aggravated life imprisonment for five others. He also asked prison terms of up to 7,518 years for the same four defendants for the attempted murder of 344 people injured in the blast. Only eight among 55 defendants are currently in jail while the others were released pending trial or at large.
A separate trial will be held for conviction of others in the case, all senior officials of the PKK, from Cemil Bayık to Murat Karayılan.
Salih Muslum, the former leader of the PKK's Syrian affiliate, Democratic Union Party (PYD), will also be tried separately. Muslum was detained briefly in the Czech Republic earlier this year. He was released despite Turkey's objection and call for his extradition.
The trial was adjourned to Sept. 27. The indictment says Seher Çağla Demir and Özgür Ünsal were the suicide bombers while Vahit Ayçil, who is believed to have been near the scene, is the alleged mastermind of the attack. Ayçil disappeared while others helping him and the bombers were arrested.