Turkey jails leader of pro-Chechen hotel raiders

The gunmen surrendered to authorities after holding more than 120 people overnight at the hotel in Turkey’s biggest city. They said their action was aimed at drawing international attention to Russian military action in Chechnya.
It was one of the most high-profile recent examples of pro-Chechen raids in Turkey, where the militants are seen by some as fellow Muslims fighting an oppressive power.
Russia accuses Turkey of being soft on the militants. Tokcan is a Turk of Chechen origin who took part in the 1996 hijacking of a Black Sea ferry, also a protest against Russian attempts to bring Chechen rebels to heel that have now extended over two devastating wars.Tokcan and most of his colleagues from the ferry hijacking escaped from Turkish jails soon after being imprisoned, adding weight to the Russian accusations of leniency.