Seventeen people, including the alleged perpetrator of the attack that left six dead and 81 injured in Istanbul on Sunday, will be held in pre-trial detention from next Friday, while another 29 will be deported, official local media said.
According to the official news agency Anadolu, the Turkish authorities have not disclosed the nationalities of those to be deported.
Anadolu said 49 detainees were questioned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and then handed over to the judge, who issued the judicial measures.
Three other suspects remain under judicial supervision and two others are being questioned.
All those held in pre-trial detention are charged with crimes such as “destruction of the unity and integrity of the state”, “premeditated murder” or “collaboration in manslaughter”.
According to the Anadolu news agency, Syrian citizen Ahlam Albashir, accused of planting the bomb in Istikal Street, in the center of Istanbul, stated that the order to travel to the city came from the Syrian-Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG ), but she did not inform him of the reason, further emphasizing that they threatened to harm his family if he did not.
Ahlam Albashir also stated that he passed through the attack area three times and was unaware that he had a bomb in the backpack which he was allowed to put on the street.
Last Sunday, the Syrian citizen along with other suspects took a taxi towards the city center – both are still wanted by authorities – and then sat down on a bench in Istikal Street, where she waited 40 minutes for a call. leave the backpack and leave the place.
The YGP is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, but is supported by the United States in its fight against the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Ankara has accused Washington of financing and supplying military equipment to the YPG.
The Syrian Kurdish militia, the main formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), installed in the north and east of the belligerent country, and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have already denied any involvement in the attack.
For the Turkish authorities, the YPG in Syria is an extension of the PKK, the Kurdish guerrilla group considered terrorist by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
Source: DN
