A Turkish court has ruled for the release of three defendants under a travel ban in the ongoing trial of suspects who took part in a deadly PKK attack in Istanbul in November 2022, local media reported Monday.
The Istanbul court has kept in custody the other 13 defendants, including Ahlam Albashir Saleh, the female terrorist who left the bomb on Istiklal Street, reports said, while other defendants, like the taxi driver who drove Albashir to the scene of the attack, pleaded for their release and acquittal.
Some 36 suspects have been standing trial for their roles in the Istiklal Street attack in Istanbul on Nov. 13, 2022, which killed six people and injured 99 others.
The court also approved the prosecution's demand to have a warrant sent to the Turkish police, the military and intelligence to determine whether there is any information, documents, or statements that show the defendants are in contact or linked with the terrorist organization.
The indictment against suspects asks for seven instances of aggravated life imprisonment for Albashir and her accomplice Bilal Hassan, along with additional prison terms of up to 9,000 years for each victim and act of terrorism. Cemil Bayık, one of the PKK's fugitive senior figures, also faces the same prison terms.
In a precision operation in Syria's Qamishli district in February 2023, Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) eliminated Halil Menci, a member of the PKK terrorist group's Syrian wing, the YPG, and one of the masterminds of the Istiklal Street attacks. Menci was in close contact with fellow YPG/PKK members and was protected by the terrorist group in Qamishli, one of the places controlled by the terrorist group.
An earlier investigation had revealed that Menci guided Albashir and Hassan and organized the latter's escape from Türkiye after the attack.
When she was arrested days following the attack, Akbashir confessed to entering Türkiye illegally from the Syrian city of Afrin after receiving intelligence operative training from the PKK/YPG.
In its over 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
After the attack, Türkiye launched aerial operations against the terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, which still continue, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan implied that a ground operation was also on the table to clear Syria's north of terrorist groups threatening Türkiye.
