ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Saturday ordered the release of seven suspects in the trial over the deadly New Year attack on an Istanbul nightclub following an initial series of hearings. The court in Silivri outside Istanbul ruled that 44 suspects — including the self-confessed attacker Uzbek citizen Abdulkadir Masharipov — must stay in jail.
But it said seven could go free under judicial control. This means that they remain charged and will have to regularly report to the authorities. A total of 57 suspects are on trial, with the remaining number freed under judicial control or on the run. The trial opened on December 11 with the court hearing five days of testimony.
The next hearings will begin on March 26. Masharipov, who was present for the hearings, has refused to testify although the court heard from his wife who is also on trial and denied all knowledge of the plot.
The deadly attack on the Reina nightclub killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, who were celebrating the start of 2017. Masharipov, who was captured after 17 days on the run, faces 40 life sentences, one for each of the victims and the massacre itself. After taking a taxi to the elite waterside nightclub, Masharipov shot dead the security guard before marching inside and firing indiscriminately with his AK-47 at the terrified revellers and setting off grenades. The Islamic State group, which at the time controlled swathes of neighbouring Iraq and Syria, claimed the attack.
Former US president Donald Trump. — AFP NEW YORK: The judge overseeing former US president Donald Trump’s...
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik. — AFP FileSARAJEVO: The parliament of Bosnia´s autonomous Serb Republic adopted...
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during the opening ceremony of the 6th China International Import...
Indonesia's Ruang volcano. — AFP JAKARTA: Indonesia shut a provincial airport and evacuated hundreds of people...
Myanmar’s detained former leader and Aung San Suu Kyi. — AFP LONDON: Myanmar’s detained former leader and Aung...
President Ruto is seen with the chief of the Kenya Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla in this photo on 28 February....