Ankara: 10,300-year prison term in 2016 terror attack

ANKARA

A PKK terrorist was given multiple aggravated life sentences and more than 10,000 years in jail for a deadly terror attack in Ankara in 2016, officials said Wednesday.

During a final hearing at Heavy Penal Court No: 4 in Ankara, Suphi Akbas received 37 aggravated life sentences and 10,276 years in prison for the attack in Guvenpark, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity.

Akbas was charged with disrupting the unity of government and integrity of the country, deliberate killing, attempt to deliberately kill and possession of explosive material without permission.

Other defendants Ferit Ak and Salih Sahin were handed 15 years each for aiding and abetting the PKK terror group.

The March 13, 2016 attack in the Kizilay district -- a popular shopping area and major public transportation hub -- was carried out using an explosives-laden vehicle, which left 38 people dead and 349 others injured.

The governor’s office noted that three separate arrest warrants were issued for the suspect on charges of being a member of an armed terror group, disrupting unity and integrity of the state and aiding and abetting a terror group.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Sena Guler