Alparslan Çelik, the alleged killer of a Turkey-downed Russian
Su-24 jet pilot, was released from prison in the western province of
İzmir on June 27 with a ban on leaving the country. The court ruled for
the release of seven suspects, including Çelik.
The police took
strict security measures in the public hearing held on June 27 and the
suspects were brought to the courtroom wearing bulletproof vests. The
suspects’ lawyer, Taşkın Kangal, requested the testimonies be prevented
from being published in the media citing national security, which was
accepted by court.
Çelik was caught in a restaurant on March 31
in the Karabağlar district of İzmir, after an unidentified person
notified the police about people with guns in the restaurant. Çelik and
16 others were detained and guns were found on them. The court then
ruled for the arrest of Çelik on April 3 for violating a gun law
following his detainment.
Çelik, İsmail Demir, Mustafa Develi,
Asil Tırnova, Fatih Arnas, Bayram Karaarslan and Murat Gezer were
arrested, two suspects were released on probation and eight suspects
were released pending trial. Sentences of up to nine years in prison
were sought for the 17 suspects.
The İzmir Chief Public
Prosecutor’s Office’s terror and organizational crimes bureau had
recently ruled for a non-suit for Çelik over “grievous provocation in the
killing of the Russian
pilot after evaluating reports of his testimony, interviews in the
media and video footage,” but reversed its decision on June 24, citing
new evidence on the incident.
Two Turkish F-16s shot down a
Russian-made SU-24 jet on Nov. 24, 2015, near the Syrian border after it
allegedly violated Turkish airspace.