Turkey: PKK terrorist jailed for life over assassination plan

By Cemil Murat Budak and Serdar Acil

ANKARA (AA) - A PKK terrorist, who confessed to plotting to assassinate Turkey’s defense minister and interior minister, has been sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

Sonay Bakar, who attended the trial held at the 25th High Criminal Court in Ankara via video link from the prison, was convicted on charges of disrupting state’s unity and the country’s integrity.

Two more suspects, identified as Suleyman A. and Levent O, who were accused of assisting Bakar were acquitted of all charges.

Bakar had surrendered to security forces and confessed that he received an instruction from a high-ranking ringleader of the terror group to assassinate Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

He stated that he first visited Istanbul and then the capital Ankara for reconnoitering and that two terror group members assisted him.

He added that he was instructed to carry out an attack on a military unit in case he failed to assassinate the ministers.

In the past, prosecutors in Ankara had charged Bakar for preparing bombs to be used to attack military units.

The trial of the three suspects began on March 26, 2020. At a hearing held on June 23 last year, an aggravated life sentence was requested for Bakar. A jail term of 15 years each was sought for the other two suspect on charges of armed terrorist group membership.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara