Turkey releases ISIS member sought by Kyrgyzstan via red notice from prison

Duvar English

Turkish authorities have released a person wanted by Interpol with a red notice on the charges of being Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) member from prison pending trial due to "lack of evidence.”

The person entered Turkey illegally from Syria and was caught in Polatlı district of capital Ankara with a fake identity card. 

The Kazakhstan national who was subjected to a ban on leaving the country and judicial control measures is currently residing in Ankara. He was released because Kazakhstan judicial authorities did not send the required documents about his connections with the ISIS.

According to the indictment prepared by Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the 35-year-old man traveled from Kazakhstan to Egypt in 2013, when the civil war in Syria intensified.

His next stop was Turkey, according to reporting of Gerçek News. This person contacted ISIS organization in Turkey and stayed in various cells in different cities. Then he traveled to northeastern Gaziantep province and illegally crossed to Syria.

Before joining ISIS, the suspect made a video titled "Mujahideen" addressed to Kazakhstan citizens and called them to "join the jihad,” the so-called holy war against the infidels.

The intelligence determined that he was member of several radical organizations active in Kazakhstan before joining ISIS.

Kazakhstan intelligence reported these evidences about the person who was in Syria at the time to Interpol. In 2014, Interpol issued a red notice for the man.

According to his summary statement included in the indictment, he frequently crossed into Turkey illegally during his stay in Syria. When he entered Turkey, he used a fake identity card prepared by ISIS members to move around easily and stayed in houses.

The man's brother was also in Turkey in 2015 and he was caught in a police operation while preparing to attack the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Istanbul. He was deported later.

The man came to Turkey illegally again after the ISIS lost the last piece of territory it held in Syria in 2019 and he has lived in Turkey with a fake identity until 2021.

The ISIS member was arrested in Ankara in April 2021 on the charge of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" and sent to Sincan Prison where he was held for 29 months.

During this period, Turkish authorities contacted the Kazakhstan government and requested information, documents and videos held by the intelligence services regarding the man's membership in ISIS. However, Kazakhstan did not send the documents of its citizen to the Turkish judiciary during his arrest.

At the hearing on late September of the trial in which he was charged with ISIS membership due to Astana's failure to send documents, he was released pending trial on the grounds of "lack of evidence.” 

The next hearing is expected to take place in April 2024, and he is currently living at an address in Ankara.

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