Yusuf Nazik, a key plotter of the 2013 attack in Reyhanlı district of Turkey's southern Hatay province, was sentenced to 53 aggravated life terms by a court on Monday.
Nazik, 34, has confessed to playing a role in the deadly bombing in the town of Reyhanlı in Hatay, southern Turkey, which killed 53 people.
In November, the prosecutor asked the court to hand Nazik a 53-times aggravated jail term on charges of "destroying the state's unity and integrity" and "killing intentionally" 52 people, including five children.
Nazik was brought from Syria's port city of Latakia, a stronghold of the Bashar Assad regime, to Turkey by the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) agents on Sept. 12 and was sent to an Ankara court under strict safety measures.
Nazik was listed in the "blue" category of Turkey's most wanted terrorists list. According to his confession, he was given up-to-the-minute intelligence from Syrian intelligence units and scouted the crime scene prior to the attack, then moved explosives from Syria to Turkey.
Reportedly, the Assad regime did not only help Nazik during the Reyhanlı attack but it also helped him with daily life in Latakia afterward.
On May 11, 2013, a bomb-laden vehicle was detonated in Reyhanlı town center first, killing scores and causing destruction. A second vehicle was detonated five minutes later after dozens, including civilians, first-aid units and security forces, had rushed to the area to help those wounded in the attack.
In addition to killing 53 people and injuring dozens of others, the attack devastated the district, damaging 912 houses, 891 businesses and 148 vehicles.
