Prominent salafist figure released after seven years behind bars
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Halis Bayancuk, also known as Abu Hanzala, the leader of the Salafi group Tavhid and Sunnah, was released in a hearing today.
Bayancuk had been sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison for "establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization." At a hearing in May, the court had decided to merge three cases against him.
The group's publication, Tevhid Magazine said on social media, "Hodja Halis Bayancuk, who is known for his hundreds of articles in Tevhid Magazine and more than a thousand audio/visual seminars, has ended his detention that lasted for 11 years in total and 7 years in the last period with today's release decision."
The case
The Bakırköy 16th Heavy Penal Court had sentenced Bayancuk to 6 years and 3 months in prison for "being a member of the al-Qaeda armed terrorist organization."
The Court of Cassation had overturned the verdict and remanded the case to the Bakırköy 16th Heavy Penal Court, where the trial continued. Meanwhile, the Sakarya 2nd Heavy Penal Court had sentenced Bayancuk to 12 years and 6 months in prison for "establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization," referring to ISIS.
The court had acquitted Halis Bayancuk of "violating the constitution" due to lack of sufficient evidence.
The İstanbul Regional Court of Justice 2nd Penal Chamber had remanded case the file on the grounds that there might be a connection between the verdict of the Sakarya 2nd Heavy Penal Court and other cases opened against Bayancuk for similar crimes in other courts in Turkey.
After the return, at the hearing held at the Sakarya 2nd Heavy Penal Court, the prosecutor had requested that the case be merged with the ongoing case at the İstanbul Bakırköy 16th Heavy Penal Court and that his arrest be continued. The court had decided accordingly.
During the trial stage, the file was sent to the Court of Cassation 5th Penal Chamber for the merger of the cases at the Sakarya 2nd Heavy Penal Court and the Bakırköy 16th Heavy Penal Court. The chamber had decided to merge the cases.
After the merger decision, the Sakarya 2nd Heavy Penal Court had also sentenced the defendant Halis Bayancuk to 12 years and 6 months in prison for "establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization" on September 18, 2020.
On November 10, 2020, it was requested that Bayancuk be sentenced to up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for "establishing and leading an armed terrorist organization" in the case where he was tried within the scope of al-Qaeda.
Bayancuk was also given 12 years and 6 months in prison for "establishing and leading an armed terrorist organization" in the case where he was tried within the scope of al-Qaeda on February 8, 20212.
The file in which Halis Bayancuk was convicted was overturned at the hearing held at the Supreme Court of Appeals on December 28, 2022.
About Halis Bayancuk
Halis Bayancuk was born in Diyarbakır in 1984. He is the son of Hacı Bayuncuk, one of the prominent figures of the Hizbullah, also known as the Kurdish Hezbollah, an armed group that perpetrated hundreds of targeted killings in the 1990s.
Unlike the traditional Islamic line, he takes the religion-state relationship as a matter of faith. He believes that Sharia rule is mandatory and that it should be under a caliph's leadership. Any other official form of government is taghut (one who rebels against God), contrary to tavhid.
In his video published in 2014, he said about ISIS, "ISIS are our Muslim brothers. We consider every attack against them as an attack against us. I believe that this war is a war of faith. I stand by those brothers."
He was detained, arrested, and then released at various times in al-Qaeda and ISIS investigations.
The Tavhid and Sunnah Group, led by Bayancuk based in İstanbul Bağcılar, has publications such as Tevhid Bookstore, "tevhiddersleri.org", "tevhidgundemi.com", Tevhid Magazine and "Halis Bayancuk Hoca" YouTube channel. (VC/VK)