The Istanbul High Criminal Court has ruled against seven suspects in the murder of a businessman Aierken Saimaiti. Sabah media outlet reports.
The court sentenced Abdulla Enver, Khusein Akhmetaliev and Samer Bargut to life imprisonment for aggravated murder and «destruction of the unity of the state and integrity of the country.»
Abdulla Enver and Khusein Akhmetaliev were sentenced to one more life sentence for premeditated murder, 2.5 years in prison for possession of unlicensed weapons, and a fine of 1,500,000 liras, and Samer Bargut — to 13 years in prison for complicity in the commission of the premeditated murder.
Other defendants — Esad El-Khatib, Ali Isbekh and Ali El Hak Ali — were sentenced to 3 years and 1.5 months in prison for knowingly and voluntarily assisting an armed terrorist organization. The accused Normakhat Arifonov was sentenced to three years and a month and a half in prison for assisting a terrorist organization, and two years and one month — for destroying and concealing evidence.
It is noted that the defendants belong to the radical Salafi terrorist group Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which operates on behalf of an organization called the Committee for the Liberation of Damascus. The organization consists of citizens of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and operates in Idlib district of Syria on behalf of the terrorist organization.
Aierken Saimaiti was killed in Istanbul on November 10, 2019. He was shot dead in a cafe in Fatih district. After publication of a photograph of Saimaiti with some Kyrgyz politicians, the Parliament decided to investigate his murder.
The journalistic investigation into smuggling and corruption at the customs caused a wide public outcry. The publication indicated that the Chinese businessman Aierken Saimaiti was repeatedly threatened with murder by unknown persons in Kyrgyzstan, so he fled to Turkey.
The Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case and entrusted the investigation to an interdepartmental investigation team.
