Istanbul NYE attacker asks court for death sentence

In a strange request, Abdulgadir Masharipov, the IS militant, who carried out the Istanbul nightclub attack on New Year's Eve has asked for the death penalty.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

13 February, 2017

At least 39 people were killed after Masharipov opened fire at Reina nightclub [AFP]

The militant who conducted the Istanbul nightclub attack on New Year's Eve requested that he gets sentenced to death as his punishment, Daily Sabah reported on Monday.

"Hang me, if you can," begged Abdulgadir Masharipov, the Islamic State group militant as he stood in front of a Turkish court.

Masharipov was found 16 days after he orchestrated the terrorist attack and was sent to a high-security prison in the Silivri district of Istanbul, where he was interrogated.

Initially, while he did not deny being a member of IS group, he denied being "an enemy of the Turkish state" and only wanted to get back at the Turkish government for its military crackdown on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

He also said that his only intention was to kill Christians who were partaking in New Year’s celebrations.

"I tried to kill myself so that I wouldn't fall into the hands [of police]. It was a suicide [attack]," Masharipov claimed in front of the courts.

He then added that he would "gladly" accept a death sentence, despite the fact that Turkey has outlawed capital punishment.

On the night of the attack, at least 39 people were killed and 69 others wounded after Masharipov opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations.

After the attacks took place, the Turkish government imposed a crackdown, detaining over 400 suspected members of IS.

Many who were held were foreign nationals, whom the Turkish authorities suspected that they migrated to Turkey to coordinate with IS in Iraq and Syria.