3 defendants released in İstiklal bomb attack case

ISTANBUL

Three defendants have been released in the case of the 2022 terrorist bombing that claimed the lives of six people on İstiklal Avenue, one of the tourist hotspots in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district.

The trial continued in relation to the terrorist bomb attack on İstiklal Avenue on Nov. 13, 2022, in which six people were killed and 99 were wounded.

The court released three defendants and decided to continue the detention of Ahlam Albashır, the perpetrator of the bomb attack.

The fifth trial was held at the Heavy Penal Court, and the announcement of the final verdict was postponed to a later date.

A total of 36 defendants were tried in the case, and the number of arrested defendants decreased to 15 with the releases.

The indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office states that the bomb attack on İstiklal Avenue in Taksim on Nov. 13, 2022, was planned and carried out by the PKK/YPG/PYD.

The indictment calls for seven aggravated life sentences and 1,949 years and six months to 3,009 years in prison for Albashır, the suspect thought to have planted the bomb.