) A court in Istanbul has arrested 25 detainees after an Istanbul church shooting, including a Russian national, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said.
On Sunday, two people in masks with automatic weapons attacked the Catholic Church of St. Mary in Istanbul’s Sariyer district, leaving one person dead. The Islamic State later took responsibility for the attack, media reported. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two main suspects in the attack were citizens of Tajikistan and Russia.
Overall, 60 people were detained as part of the investigation, 26 of them were transferred to the migration department for subsequent deportation. A preliminary hearing for the 34 remaining detainees took place on Thursday. The prosecutor’s office demanded the arrest of 13 of the detainees on charges of participation in a terrorist group, and 21 detainees on charges of participation in a terrorist group and premeditated murder.
“An arrest warrant on charges of membership in a terrorist group and premeditated murder has been issued for 25 suspects, including Amirjon Khligov and David Tanduyev, suspected of membership in ISIS and shooting at our citizen. Nine more suspects have been released under judicial control,” Tunc wrote on X.
