Russian citizen detained in Turkey on suspicion of terrorism wanted by Russia as illegal armed unit member - source
MOSCOW. Aug 11 (Interfax) - Russian citizen Renat Bakiyev who, according to Turkish media outlets, has been detained in Turkey on suspicion of terrorism was wanted by Russian authorities on counts of participation in illegal armed units abroad, a source in the Russian law enforcement authorities told Interfax on Friday.
"This person is known to law enforcement agencies as Russian citizen Renat Bakiyev born in 1994. He is a native of Tatarstan," the source said.
According to the source, Bakiyev became a student of the Geology Faculty of Kazan (Volga) Federal University in 2012.
"He took a flight from Nizhnekamsk to Istanbul on April 10, 2014, travelling via Turkey to Egypt to study in a theological school," the source said, adding that Bakiyev left for Syria later in that year and joined ISIL (a terrorist organization banned in Russia).
"In light of that fact, Russian law enforcement authorities opened a criminal case against Bakiyev in July 2015 under Article 208 (participation in an armed unit not envisaged by Russian laws in the territory of a foreign country)," the source said.
Bakiyev was put on the international most wanted list through Interpol, the source said. "To our knowledge, Bakiyev was detained in Turkey and put in prison in October 2015. Despite being an internationally wanted fugitive, he was set free and applied for temporary residence in Turkey," he said.
Turkish media outlets said that Russian citizen Bakiyev had been detained in the Adana province on suspicion of plotting a terror attack on a U.S. Air Force plane in the Incirlik Air Base area using a drone carrying explosives.
Bakiyev was arrested after Turkish security services saw his correspondence with another ISIL member in the Telegram messenger. Bakiyev had requested financial support for a pending terror attack.