The 4th hearing of the lawsuit regarding ISIS’ organisation structure in Turkey was held yesterday. 7 of the 96 suspects who were jailed pending trial were all released. Among those suspects are Halis Bayancuk, code name “Ebu Hanzala”, leader of the Tevhid Group who openly declare support for ISIS.

The 4th hearing of the case was held yesterday in the 13th Penal Court in İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The jailed suspects Halis Bayancuk, code name “Ebu Hanzala”, leader of the Tevhid Group, Cemil Aslan, Enes Yelgün, Erdal Yaşar, Mehmet Karlı and Syrian nationals Muhammed Mustafa Halli and Asaad Khelifkhadr as well as 21 suspects without arrest were present.

The jailed suspects Syrian nationals Muhammed Mustafa Halli and Asaad Khelifalkhadr testified via translators.

The Syrians charged with taking two French national women from İstanbul to Antep, and then over to Syria to join ISIS denied allegations in their testimonies. Khelifalkhadr, claiming he entered Turkey illegally and is working in tourism, said, “Because I work in tourism, sometimes we give tours to people coming from other countries. I never sent anybody over to ISIS. I don’t support ISIS. I don’t hold the same beliefs as them.”

After the jailed suspects and other suspects testified, the court declared an interim decision and ordered all the suspects be released from jail.