Alleged killer of Russian jet pilot arrested

İZMİR

Alparslan Çelik, who Russia has alleged killed pilot Oleg Peshkov of the Russian jet downed by Turkey on Nov. 24, 2015, was arrested on April 3.

A court in the Aegean province of İzmir ruled for the arrest of Çelik for violating a gun law along with another six suspects.

Meanwhile, the court also ruled for the release of eight suspects.

Çelik was detained in İzmir along with 14 others on March 30. 

When the prosecutor reportedly asked Çelik about the footage of the Russian pilot being shot, the accused said that he warned the people around him not to shoot.

Çelik and 14 others were detained after an unidentified person called the police and said there were men with guns in a restaurant they were sitting at.

Police seized a Kalashnikov, an assault rifle, two walkie-talkies, six pistols and approximately 150 bullets from the men, after which Çelik and his friends were taken to a police station to give their testimonies.

Meanwhile, on a further search on the suspects and their cars from Syria, the police found one Kalashnikov and two Thomson automatic weapons.

Çelik has a prison sentence for 2.5 years and a fine of 2,000 Turkish Liras in relation with counterfeit money crime and arrest warrants were issued for convict and prisoner escapes and fraud charges by Elazığ Police, according to state prosecutors.

Çelik denied the allegations in his testimony and noted that he doesn’t have any relations with the people who possessed guns, Anadolu Agency reported.