AS OF 11/21/12:

Sources close to Waynakh Online have reported that all four Chechen asylum seekers who were recently detained have been released as of Tuesday evening.

 According to the information, a few days ago Turkish border police arrested a Georgian citizen named Ruslan Babasgiri (aka Zona Babasgiri), born 1973 in Tbilisi, as he was crossing into Turkey from Syria. During the interrogation, it was determined that Babasgiri provided the gun for the alleged assassination attempt against the former head of the Shari’a Courts in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in October 2011. During the interrogation, he gave police the names of Chechen asylum seekers as a provocation. Following this, on November 16 Turkish police arrested those Chechen asylum seekers and brought them in for questioning.

 On Tuesday, November 20, four Chechen asylum seekers testified in front of the specially authorized Turkish Republic Prosecutor, Adem Ozcan. The prosecutor also asked them for information about the assassination of three Chechen asylum seekers in Istanbul in September 2011. They were asked whether they had ever seen or known of the people in photos and video records that were provided. After the interrogation, the prosecutor decided to release them.

 On the other hand, “Ruslan Babasgiri” and another man called “Ali Y” were sent to court with a demand that they remain in custody. The prosecutor has accused the two men with murder and possessing an unlicensed gun.

Courtesy of: Waynakh Online

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Sources close to Waynakh Online have reported that a group of Turkish police from the Counter-Terrorism Branch detained four Chechen asylum seekers during concurrent operations in the cities of Istanbul and Adapazari.

 According to the sources, on the evening of November 16, police officers from the Istanbul and Adapazari Counter-Terrorism Branches conducted concurrent raids at three different flats in the Basaksehir district of Istanbul, as well as another flat in the center of the city of Adapazari. The police officers did not explain the reasons for the raids nor did they produce warrants. Even still, they broke into the flats and searched each one. After the searches were complete, they detained four male Chechen asylum seekers without any explanation.

 As far as it is known, all four Chechen asylum seekers have legal and valid residence permits. Relatives of the detainees are worried about their loved ones and said that they do not know anything about the incident because police officers have not given them any information since the operation.

Courtesy of: Waynakh Online