Turkish authorities release ISIS member wanted on red notice

After 29 months in Ankara’s Sincan Prison, a man who was the subject of a Red Notice issued by Kazakhstan for ISIS membership has been released by the court pending trial. The reason given was that Kazakhstan had not sent the necessary documents to the Turkish judiciary.

According to the exclusive report by Arti Gercek, D.K., who entered Turkey illegally from Syria while wanted by INTERPOL under the Red Notice for suspected ISIS membership and was caught in the Turkish capital Ankara with a fake identity card, was released pending trial for “lack of evidence” because Kazakhstan did not send the necessary documents to the Turkish judicial authorities. Kazakh national D.K., who is subject to a travel ban and judicial control, is currently residing in Ankara.

Red Notice for D.K. since 2014

According to the indictment prepared by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, 35-year-old D.K. traveled from Kazakhstan to Egypt in 2013, as the civil war in Syria was raging. After Egypt, his next stop was Turkey. D.K. contacted ISIS in Turkey and stayed in houses in different cities. When he went to Antep, he crossed into Syria illegally with the help of the person whose house he was staying in.

Arti Gercek reports that before joining ISIS, D.K. made a video titled “Mujahideen” in which he called on Kazakhstan citizens to “join the jihad” and posted it on social media. Kazakhstani intelligence investigated the distribution of this video and determined that D.K. had traveled to Syria to join ISIS. Kazakhstani intelligence reported this evidence and information about D.K., who was in Syria at the time, to INTERPOL. In 2014, INTERPOL issued a Red Notice for him.

Moving freely in Turkey with a false identity card

According to the indictment, D.K. frequently entered Turkey illegally while in Syria. When he entered Turkey, he used a false identity card prepared by ISIS members to move freely. Another striking revelation in the indictment is that D.K.’s brother, who was in Turkey in 2015, is also an ISIS member. This person, whose identity information is not included in the indictment, was caught in a police operation in 2015 while preparing to attack the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Istanbul and was deported.

After the defeat of ISIS in Syria in 2019, D.K. returned to Turkey illegally. He lived in Turkey with a false identity until 2021. On 2 April 2021, D.K. was caught by the police in a car and arrested. He was arrested on charges of ‘membership of an armed terrorist organization’ and sent to Sincan prison, where he was held for 29 months. During this time, the Turkish authorities contacted the Kazakh government and asked its intelligence services for information, documents, and videos relating to D.K.’s membership in ISIS. However, Kazakhstan reportedly did not send the information and documents to the Turkish judiciary.

As a result of the lack of documentation, the man was released with a travel ban and under judicial supervision to be tried without arrest on the grounds of ‘insufficient evidence’ at last week’s hearing in his ISIS membership case. The next hearing is expected to take place in April 2024, while ISIS member D.K. is currently living in Ankara.