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Turkey
Policemen and ambulances arrive at the scene of the explosion in Istanbul's Istiklal street on November 13, 2022. Photo: Omer Sonmez/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish court on Friday sentenced the main suspect of the 2022 bombing on Istanbul’s Istiklal street to seven life sentences and an additional 1,794 years in prison, state media reported. The attack claimed the lives of six people.
A TNT explosion in November 2022 in Istanbul’s popular Istiklal street killed six people and injured 99 others. A 23-year-old Syrian woman, Ahlam Albashir, was detained by the security forces as the main suspect. The Turkish police also arrested several others.
Turkish authorities have blamed the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which controls northeast Syria (Rojava), but the group had denied any responsibility. Ankara claims that the YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The state-owned Anadolu agency reported that the court sentenced Albashir to seven times life imprisonment without parole for “undermining the unity and integrity of the state”, “premeditated child murder by bombing”, and “premeditated murder by bombing.”
Additionally, the court also imposed 1,794 years of prison on Albashir for 99 counts of "attempted murder," and "possession or transfer of dangerous substances without permission," as well as an additional judicial fine of 22,000 Turkish liras (about $680).
Albashir was arrested by Turkish security forces hours after the explosion in an Istanbul house, and Anadolu Agency said she was a trained PKK special intelligence officer. During the ensuing raids by Turkish police following the bombing, 46 other people were arrested in total.
The PKK at the time completely denied involvement in the attack and said “targeting the civilian population in any way is definitely out of the question.”
Istiklal is one of Istanbul’s most famous streets and is often described as a must-see attraction for tourists visiting the country. The 1.4-kilometer-long pedestrian street is located near the bustling Taksim Square of the Beyoglu district.
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