Istanbul: Chechen Isis militiaman linked to Saint Mary's attack apprehended

Viskhan Soltamatov allegedly masterminded the assault on the Franciscan church and supplied the group members with weapons. The arrest took place during a joint operation at the weekend. Up to 42 people are on trial, of whom at least 31 are already in custody. Turkish Christians the most persecuted minority in the country.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - Turkish security forces have arrested an Islamic State militiaman, suspected of planning and orchestrating the attack on the St Mary's Catholic Church in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul on January 28, during which a believer died.

This was reported by intelligence sources in Ankara, after the arrest was completed: according to initial reconstructions, his name is Viskhan Soltamatov (in the photo) and he is said to have planned the attack, studied its operational phases and supplied the weapons used by members of the group linked to Isil-K, based in the province of Khorasan (Iskp) and also active in Afghanistan.

Killed in the raids was a man named Tuncer Cihan, who was participating in the morning celebration of the Eucharist in the place of worship led by Franciscan friars. Interviewed by AsiaNews in the aftermath of the attack, the Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, Mgr. Maximilian Palinuro, had spoken of ‘Islamophobia and the war in Gaza’ behind the attack, whose religious and confessional roots ‘seem to be clear. An act of terrorism linked to Islamic fundamentalism'.

The suspect - of Chechen origin - was arrested on 14 September during a joint operation by security and intelligence forces in Istanbul. In the first interrogation, he allegedly provided information on the recruitment, financing and logistical activities of the group. In the course of the investigation, the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) also allegedly identified the attackers linked to Isil-k militiamen, identified the alleged bases used by the group and the local commander in Istanbul. In April, Turkey had detained 48 people believed to be connected in various ways to the church attack.

In the meantime, investigators have completed their investigation and have already transferred the investigation files to the prosecutor's office in Istanbul. It is now up to the judges to set up a trial that is expected to see up to 42 suspects on the stand, at least 31 of whom are already in pre-trial detention.

The arrested persons, among whom are Tajik citizen Amirjon Kholiqov and Russian citizen David Tanduev, face sentences ranging from seven years and six months to a total of 349 years and six months.

The attack on St. Mary's Church, in which a 52-year-old believer died, is just one of the many episodes of violence and intolerance in recent years, also confirmed by recent studies according to which Christians are the most persecuted minority group in the country. One of the latest reports, released in mid-July, is that of the experts of the Freedom of Belief Initiative, which reports dozens of violent events linked to ‘hate crimes’ targeting various religious groups, but with a higher incidence among Christians and Jews.

Funda Tekin, head of the study, emphasises that hate and confessional crimes against individuals, communities or institutions based on belief or atheism still remain a ‘significant problem’ for human rights protection and respect in Turkey. These criminal incidents convey the message that victims and groups associated with them do not enjoy equal rights with the rest of the population, posing a substantial obstacle to social peace.