Chechen ISIS militant arrested in connection with Santa Maria attack

Viskhan Soltamatov was allegedly the mastermind behind the attack on the Franciscan church and supplied weapons to members of the group. The arrest took place during a joint operation carried out over the weekend. Forty-two people are on trial, of whom at least 31 are already in custody. Turkish Christians are the most persecuted minority in the country.

Istanbul () – Turkish security forces have arrested an Islamic State militant suspected of having planned and orchestrated the attempt against the Catholic Church of St. Mary in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul on January 28, during which a worshipper was killed. This was reported by sources from the Ankara intelligence services after the arrest: according to initial reconstructions, his name is Viskhan Soltamatov (in the photo) and he is believed to have planned the attack, studied its operational phases and supplied the weapons used by members of the group linked to Isil-K, based in the province of Khorasan (ISKP) and also active in Afghanistan.

A man named Tuncer Cihan, who was taking part in the morning celebration of the Eucharist at the place of worship run by Franciscan friars, was killed in the attacks. Interviewed by after the attack, the apostolic vicar of Istanbul, Mgr. Maximilian Palinuro, had spoken of “Islamophobia and the war in Gaza» behind the attack, whose religious and confessional roots «seem clear.» An act of terrorism linked to Islamic fundamentalism.

The suspect, of Chechen origin, was arrested on 14 September during a joint operation between security forces and intelligence in Istanbul. During the first interrogation, he allegedly provided information on the group’s recruitment, financing and logistical activities. In the course of the investigation, the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) is also said to have identified the attackers linked to Isil-K militants, identified the alleged bases used by the group and the local commander in Istanbul. In April, Turkey had arrested 48 people allegedly linked in various ways to the attack on the church.

Meanwhile, investigators have completed their investigation and have already transferred the investigation files to the Istanbul prosecutor’s office. It is now up to the judges to prepare a trial in which up to 42 suspects are expected to appear, of whom at least 31 are already in pre-trial detention. The detainees, including Tajik citizen Amirjon Kholiqov and Russian citizen David Tanduev, face sentences ranging from seven years and six months to a total of 349 years and six months.

The attack on the Church of Santa Maria, in which a 52-year-old believer died, is just one of many episodes of violence and intolerance in recent years, confirmed also by recent studies according to which Christians are the largest minority group. pursued One of the latest reports, published in mid-July, is from the Freedom of Belief Initiative, which reports dozens of violent incidents related to “hate crimes” directed against various religious groups, but with a greater incidence among Christians and Jews.

Funda Tekin, which conducted the study, stresses that hate crimes and religious crimes against individuals, communities or institutions based on beliefs or atheism remain a “major problem” for the protection and respect of human rights in Turkey. These criminal incidents send the message that victims and groups associated with them do not enjoy the same rights as the rest of the population, which is a major obstacle to social peace.