Alparslan Celik, the man who took responsibility for murdering one of the pilots of Russia's Su-24 jet downed by Turkey in Syria in 2015, has been sentenced to five years, Celik's lawyer Murat Ustundag said.
"Today, a court in the [Turkish] city of Izmir concluded the trial about illegal possession of weapons by defendant Alparslan Celik and sentenced him to five years of imprisonment. The court did not raise the issue of his implication in the death of Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov, the investigation continues," Sputnik cited the lawyer as saying.
A Turkish F-16 fighter shot down the Russian Su-24 combat jet near the Turkish border in Syria on November 24, 2015. Both pilots ejected. One of them was saved, but Oleg Peskov was killed by militants' fire from the ground. In the course of the rescue operation, a Russian marine was also killed.
Celik announced his responsibility for the murder. But after being arrested, he said he had not killed the pilot and ordered his subordinate militants not to open fire. Celik and 18 other individuals were accused of illegal possession of weapons.
