Turkish prosecutors are seeking aggravated life sentences and up to 37 additional years in prison for 14 people accused of involvement in an April gun attack on a police checkpoint outside the building housing the Israeli Consulate General in İstanbul.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office charged the suspects with attempted murder, attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, membership in an armed terrorist organization and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Prosecutors requested aggravated life sentences and additional prison terms ranging from 19 to 37 years for each suspect, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Thursday.
The indictment was submitted to the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court, which will decide whether to accept the charges and conduct a trial.
Three gunmen attacked police stationed outside the Yapı Kredi Plaza in İstanbul’s Beşiktaş district on April 7, triggering a shootout in which one assailant was killed and the other two were wounded and captured.
Two police officers suffered minor injuries. The assailants had traveled to İstanbul from the nearby province of Kocaeli in a rented car and were carrying rifles, according to Turkish officials.
No Israeli diplomats were inside the consulate at the time. Israel withdrew its diplomats from Turkey in 2023 because of security concerns and deteriorating relations over its military campaign in Gaza.
Turkish media linked the attackers to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), although government officials initially did not identify an organization. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi described the slain gunman as having ties to a group that “exploits religion.”
A day after the attack, police detained 198 suspected ISIL members in coordinated raids across 34 provinces. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek described the operation as targeting members of the group, its financial network and people accused of spreading its propaganda.
Turkish Minute