Turkey arrests Russians suspected of planning assaults on Chechen dissidents

A Turkish courtroom has despatched to jail pending trial six suspects, together with 4 Russians, accused of espionage after they had been detained on suspicion of making ready armed assaults on Chechen dissidents, state broadcaster TRT Haber stated on Thursday.

It stated Turkish police first detained the suspects on Oct. 8 in an operation targeted on Istanbul and the southern resort metropolis of Antalya, naming them as 4 Russian residents, one Ukrainian and one Uzbek.

An Istanbul courtroom has now dominated to remand them in custody on a cost of “political or army espionage”, which in a conviction carries a sentence of 15-20 years in jail, TRT Haber stated, citing state-owned Anadolu information company.

“It’s alleged that the suspects had been making ready armed actions focusing on Chechen dissidents in Turkey and that they had been engaged in acquiring weapons and planning these acts,” TRT stated.

(Reuters)