Turkish court sentences woman to life in prison for deadly Istanbul bombing

• Syrian woman Alham al-Bashir has been sentenced to life in prison by a Turkish court for her role in the 2022 Istanbul explosion.
• She received seven consecutive life sentences after being convicted on terrorism charges.
• The explosion occurred on November 13, 2022 on Istiklal Street in Istanbul, killing six people, including two children.

A court on Friday sentenced a Syrian woman to life in prison for a 2022 explosion in downtown Istanbul, Turkey’s state news agency reported.

Alham al-Bashir was convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences.

The explosion on November 13, 2022, destroyed Istiklal Street, a main thoroughfare in Istanbul lined with shops and restaurants, killing six people, including two children, and injuring 99 others.

Türkiye begins trial of 36 people involved in Istanbul bombing

According to an indictment prepared by Istanbul’s public prosecutor last year, Bashir and a man named Bilal el-Hakmau were agents of the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, and its political branch, the PYD.

Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency within the country to establish an autonomous region in southeastern Turkey.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

According to the indictment, Al-Bashir and El-Hamous were specially trained by the YPG and PYD, sent to Turkey with explosives, and made their way to Istanbul with the help of networks established by the organization. El Hakmout managed to flee the country.

Turkey’s war with the PKK has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s, and Turkey and its Western allies label the PKK a terrorist organization.