A Turkish journalist, who was detained on May 2 in Kyrgyzstan on suspicion of having ties to al Qaeda, has renewed a request for political asylum, local media said.
Ali Osman Zor (43) is a member of the Great East Islamic Raiders Front extremist group, which took responsibility for a terrorist attack in Istanbul in November 2003 that killed 22 people. The Turkish government listed the group as a terrorist organization with probable ties to al Qaeda in 2007.
Zor worked in Kyrgyzstan for several Turkish-language print and Internet publications. He first asked for political asylum in Kyrgyzstan about nine months ago, citing long-term persecution by the Turkish authorities.
His arrest, on the same day Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in a U.S. operation, came after a request from the Turkish government for his extradition.
Kyrgyzstan's Delo ü newspaper said Zor had in the past distributed al Qaeda's magazine in Turkey.
Zog's criticism of Ankara and calls to overthrow the Turkish government played a major role in his persecution, the Kyrgyz www.24.kg news website reported on Wednesday.
A Kyrgyz human rights group told the agency that Zog may not face extradition while his political asylum request is under review.
BISHKEK, May 11 (RIA Novosti)
