Former Interior Minister Idris Naim Şahin was released under judicial control on Tuesday after testifying in a case concerning his alleged role in helping members of the alleged Alihan Kuriş gang evade capture.
Hilmi Tuna Kuriş, the brother of Alihan Kuriş, and two other suspects were captured in southwestern Türkiye on Aug. 21 in a rental vehicle registered in Şahin’s name. The suspects, who are accused of links to the gang associated with a religious community known as “Süleymancılar,” were attempting to flee the country at the time of their capture, according to authorities.
Şahin was questioned by prosecutors in Ankara and told them that he did not know Kuriş or Erhan Yılmaz, who were captured in the vehicle driven by Mehmet Özmen, although he acknowledged that he knew the driver. He claimed that the vehicle was registered in his name but that he had last driven it in June and was unaware of who had been using it afterward. He said he had leased the vehicle from a company owned by Özmen, while public records showed that he paid an annual lease fee of TL 1,000 for the vehicle, far below standard annual fees for such vehicles.
An Ankara court released Şahin after questioning but imposed a ban on traveling abroad.
