A Turkish court on Friday sentenced Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian national, to life in prison for a 2022 bombing., which killed six people on Istanbul’s main shopping street, Demiroren news agency and other media outlets reported, cited by Reuters.
Six people were killed and another 81 were injured in the attack on November 13, 2022, when an explosion rocked the busy Istiklal pedestrian street in central Istanbul.
More than 30 defendants also participated in the case. Four of them were released from jail on Friday, while the court ordered 10 accused to be tried separately as the individuals could not be found.
Twenty other defendants received prison sentences ranging from 4 years to life imprisonment. Of these 20, six people received aggravated life sentences for “destroying the unity and integrity of the state” and “intentional murder”.
Turkey blamed Kurdish extremists for the explosion, saying that the order for the Istiklal Boulevard attack was given in Kobani in northern Syria, where Turkish forces have conducted operations against Syrian Kurdish militia in recent years.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has denied involvement in the attack. No group claimed responsibility.
Ahlam Albashir was traced through searches of 21 addresses. She first went to Esenler and then to Küçükçekmeçe after dropping the bomb.
The suspect stated during her interrogation that she was trained as a “special intelligence officer” by the PKK, which she joined.
A police team formed after the attack, collected the footage from 1,200 security cameras in the area of the attack and conducted a detailed inspection
Albashir was taken into custody at an address said to have been identified through other suspects detained 10 hours after the attack.
Explosives were found in the house where the police explosive device disposal expert searched a large amount of foreign currency and gold. A loaded gun and a box of cartridges belonging to the woman were seized.
The camouflage pants and boots were also found in the house, which she was wearing during the attack.
According to the review of the records and the statements of the detainees, Albashir made reconnaissance on Istiklal Boulevard on three separate days in a car disguised as a taxi, driven by a man and a member of the organization who accompanied Albashir from Syria before the attack.
Turkey offers help to Iraq to secure its borders
The aim is to prevent the movement of PKK fighters
