4 get life sentences for deadly 2016 terror attack in Türkiye

By Murat Asil

KAYSERI, Türkiye (AA) – Four defendants in the case of a 2016 terrorist attack in central Türkiye got life sentences on Tuesday, while two others also got prison time.

The four defendants got 15 aggravated life sentences apiece for intentional homicide over the attack, in which a public bus was targeted by a vehicle laden with explosives, taking the lives of 15 soldiers who were on the bus. Additionally, they got 54 prison terms of 20 years each for attempted homicide.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Ekrem Ugur, one of the four defendants convicted who is still at large.

In a separate ruling in the same case, two defendants got sentences of four years and six months each, and four others were acquitted.

On Dec. 17, 2016, 15 off-duty soldiers were killed and 54 injured when a car bomb targeted a public bus in the central Turkish province of Kayseri.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan