Syrian, Russian and Ukrainian nationals sentenced in ISIS trial

A court in central Turkey handed down prison sentences to six Syrian nationals, a Russian woman and a Ukrainian man yesterday for their links to the terrorist group Daesh.

The suspects were on trial for their connections to terrorist group’s “migration and logistics committee” head for Turkey, a suspect known by his nom de guerre, “Abu Jafar.”

Police in the central Turkish province of Kayseri launched operations on Oct. 11, 2018, to capture them. Ukrainian national Rashid Enikeev, who was among eight suspects, had an international arrest warrant for running a Daesh cell and was accused of helping the wives of slain Daesh militants to sneak into Turkey from Syria. Police had also found a stockpile of forged passports and digital propaganda material for Daesh in the suspects’ possession.

The court in Kayseri handed down a prison sentence of seven years and six months to Enikeev and Syrian defendant Mahmoud Sheikh Mohammad for membership of a terrorist group. The other defendants, Russian national Elena Rakhmanova, Syrian nationals Sumayya Sheikh Mohammad, Ahmad Alakel, Mohammad al-Hammoud and Minah Mohammad al-Ali were sentenced to six years and three months in prison, while Muhammad Rabig Ismael, another Syrian defendant, was acquitted on charges of membership of a terrorist group.

In another trial on Daesh in the southern province of Adana, a Turkish defendant was sentenced to six years and three months in prison. Eyüp Baksi was captured in an operation in the province last year and was allegedly Adana “emir” for the terrorist group.

Baksi denied the charges against him but prosecutors say he had a senior position in terrorist group’s network in Turkey and used to relay messages by Daesh leadership in Syria to the group’s members in Turkey. He was also accused of collecting funds for the terrorist group.

Source: Daily Sabah