Trial for the 36 suspects in the fatal Istanbul bombing has begun in Turkey

 Turkey's state-run news agency said that the trial of 36 defendants for a fatal blast in central Istanbul in November had started on Tuesday. On November 13, 2022, an explosion tore through Istanbul's well-known Istiklal Avenue, a bustling avenue packed with stores and restaurants, killing six people, including two children, and critically wounding 99 others.

In court for the trial's opening statements were fifteen defendants, including suspected bomber Ahlam Albashir. Participating via video connection from their prisons were an additional 12 defendants. Unknown whereabouts are held for the other nine.

A variety of terrorism-related allegations are brought against Albashir. She may receive seven life sentences, in addition to an extra 1,900 to 3,000 years in jail, if found guilty. The presiding judge permitted her to delay her defense until the following session since the indictment was not read to her in her native Arabic.

Albashir and a guy named Bilal el-Hacmaus were intelligence agents for the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia group, and its political wing, the PYD, according to an indictment created by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's office. The PKK, an illegal organization that has been involved in a long-running conflict inside Turkey, is seen as having an arm in Syria through the YPG, according to Turkey.

The two accused, who were dispatched to Turkey with explosives after receiving specialized training from the YPG/PYD, proceeded to Istanbul with the aid of a network built by the group, according to the indictment. El-Hacmaus was successful in leaving the nation. In connection with the case, arrest warrants have also been issued for a number of PKK and YPG commanders, including PKK leader Cemil Bayik. Whether he is in Turkey, Syria, or Iraq is unknown