First trial hearing of the attack at Santa Maria Church is held

sarIyer, istanbul - The trial of 43 defendants, including the attackers, who are on trial for the attack at Santa Maria Church in Sarıyer where one person lost his life, has been postponed until tomorrow for the continuation of suspect defenses.

The trial of 43 defendants, including the attackers, who are on trial for the attack at Santa Maria Church in Sarıyer where one person lost his life, has been postponed until tomorrow for the continuation of suspect defenses. The trial is being held at Istanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court. During the afternoon session of the trial, detained suspect Shamsullo Radzhabov made his defense.

Radzhabov, who is accused of reconnaissance at churches prior to the attack and being the owner of the vehicle used in the attack, explained that he came to Turkey legally in 2019 to earn money. He stated that he lived in Sarıyer for a year, then went to Antalya, learned the language there, and returned to Istanbul.

Radzhabov denied the allegations of reconnaissance and securing the car before the attack, stating, 'Yes, the car is mine, but I do not accept the accusations related to the attack.'

Prosecutor Afşin Hatipoğlu asked Radzhabov why he scouted in those churches, Radzhabov claimed to be a pirate cab driver and said that the photos were not on his phone and denied the allegations of reconnaissance.

Detained suspect Alısher Rakhımov, who is accused of giving the car used in the attack to detained suspect Amirjon Kholiqov, claimed that he is an auto mechanic and that the suspects brought the car to him for repairs before the attack.

Rakhımov said that the suspects took the car from him later, and 3 days before the incident, they called him again, telling him that the car broke down. He stated that he offered to take it to the mechanics next door, but since they were busy, they couldn't fix it, so the car stayed in front of his shop for a while.