Turkey fails to prosecute two Chechens for beheading three priests in Syria

Two Chechens who were accused of beheading three priests in Syria avoided sentencing on murder charges, though they were sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for being a member of a terror organization by an Istanbul court.

Magomet Abdurakmanov and Ahmad Ramzanov, two Chechens who were captured in Istanbul's Ba?c?lar district on July 4, 2013, along with three Turkish nationals, were accused of murdering three priests in Syria two years ago. However, the court did not hand down a murder sentence on the ground that "the crime was not committed against Turkey and the lack of an agreement on extraditions." 

The prosecutor accused Abdurakmanov and Ramzanov of beheading Aleppo's Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim, who were kidnapped on April 22, 2013, by armed men en route from the Turkish border. They were also accused of murdering another priest in Syria.

An Istanbul court sentenced the two men to seven and a half years in prison each with charges of being a member of the terror organization. However, the two Chechens will only serve two years in prison due to the Turkish penal code, which automatically lowers prison sentences.

A police criminal report said Abdurakmanov might be one of the militants in a video which was uploaded on YouTube allegedly showing the beheading of two priests. 

The prosecutor's office demanded information from the Turkish Justice Ministry on July 22, 2013. The ministry responded on Aug. 26, 2013, saying the prosecution over the murders of three priests could not go ahead because "the crime was not committed against Turkey and the lack of agreement on extraditions."

They could, however, still be charged for being a member of a terror organization.
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