THE NORDIC MONITOR -- Turkey’s highest appeals court has scaled back the convictions of two ISIS-linked terrorists involved in a 2019 armed attack on a NATO facility in İzmir, raising new questions about Turkey’s handling of jihadist terror cases.
The case involved a pre-dawn attack on April 22, 2019, against the guard post of NATO’s Allied Land Command, one of the alliance’s key military commands in the region. According to court documents cited by Nordic Monitor, the two attackers used pump-action shotguns, wore black ISIS-style clothing and face masks, and opened fire on the NATO guard booth from close range.
Digital evidence reportedly found on the suspects included ISIS propaganda, images of senior ISIS figures and videos glorifying the terrorist group’s military operations. The attackers had also allegedly posted images of themselves with weapons and tactical gear on a Telegram channel before the attack.
Despite the ISIS links and the direct attack on a NATO facility, Turkey’s 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned their convictions for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order. The court cited procedural flaws, saying prosecutors had not properly filed that specific charge in the indictment.