ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court has sent to jail pending trial six suspects, including four Russians, accused of espionage after they were detained on suspicion of preparing armed attacks on Chechen dissidents, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Thursday.
It said Turkish police first detained the suspects on Oct. 8 in an operation focused on Istanbul and the southern resort city of Antalya, naming them as four Russian citizens, one Ukrainian and one Uzbek.
An Istanbul court has now ruled to remand them in custody on a charge of “political or military espionage”, which in a conviction carries a sentence of 15-20 years in prison, TRT Haber said, citing state-owned Anadolu news agency.
“It is alleged that the suspects were preparing armed actions targeting Chechen dissidents in Turkey and that they were engaged in obtaining guns and planning these acts,” TRT said.
(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
