Another Lost ID Case

Salli was one of those three people, whose passports Yastrejemski demonstrated. However, Salli said that he had lost his ID card 11 years ago and had never had a passport whatsoever. This incident reminded the terrorist attacks in Istanbul. In that case, terrorists had bought vehicle licences and passports by using the ID cards of other people, who had lost them. A person, using the ID card of Salli, reportedly got passport from Istanbul Sultanbeyli District Security Directorate on May 15, 2002. The same person left Turkey on May 24, 2002, through the Sarp Border Gate. However the identity of that person could not be determined.

Ankara: Send Us Those Passports and Let Us Check
Even though Russian Deputy President Yastrejemski publicized the passports of Mustafa Salli, Halim Oz, and Naim Dag, who were allegedly “international terrorists” fighting for Chechnya, in a press conference, Moscow has not officially appealed to Ankara regarding the issue. Turkish diplomatic sources said that Turks generally went to Chechnya through third countries and they called on Russian authorities to return the passports in question so that Turkey could determine whether they were false or not. The same sources stated that some circles were spending a special effort to drag Turkey into the Chechnya issue.

According to Russian authorities, if one or more of those passports were fake, this meant that Turkey and Russia should be in closer cooperation in fighting against international terrorism and smuggling.