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| Europe |
| Oops! Turkey: Terror trial delayed as court is abolished |
| 2004-06-01 |
| via FT.com By Vincent Boland in Ankara - June 1 2004 A high-profile trial in Turkey involving alleged al-Qaeda terrorism was postponed in dramatic circumstances yesterday because recent reforms to the country’s criminal justice system abolished the court where it was due to take place. The case involves 69 suspects accused of carrying out a series of bomb attacks in Istanbul last November that killed 61 people and injured more than 600. The attacks were the worst in Turkey since the end of the war against Kurdish separatists in the late 1990s, and Turkish security forces blamed al-Qaeda. But the trial was mired in confusion last night after defence lawyers successfully argued that the state security court where it was to take place had no jurisdiction to hear it. The judge suspended the trial after the defendants who were in court refused to testify. Turkey’s state security courts, which heard cases of terrorism, sedition and other serious crimes, were abolished last month as part of a series of constitutional reforms inspired by Turkey’s drive to join the European Union. The postponement is an embarrassment for the government because a new court system with the authority to hear cases of serious crime, including terrorism, has not yet been established. The justice ministry declined to comment yesterday, but legal experts said the trial was unlikely to resume until a new court system was in place. The trial of the suspects is set to be the most significant involving alleged terrorism since the 1999 conviction of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK Kurdish separatist organisation. The bombs exploded at two synagogues, the British consulate and the Turkey headquarters of the HSBC banking group. Roger Short, the British consul-general in Istanbul, was among those killed. Some of the suspects in the bombings have not yet been arrested, and only 12 were brought to the court in Istanbul yesterday for the start of the trial. They are accused of attempting to overthrow the state and of membership of an illegal organisation. The postponement comes as Turkey prepares a massive security operation ahead of this month’s Nato summit in Istanbul, which will be attended by President George W. Bush and other world leaders. Whoa, how do you say, "Hey, dood, is that egg all over yer face?" in Turkish? |
| Posted by:.com |
| #1 Whoa, how do you say, "Hey, dood, is that egg all over yer face?" in Turkish? Murat |
| Posted by: john 2004-06-01 9:10:50 AM |