Bomb suspects' lawyer tells court of 'Muslim obligation'
A lawyer defending al-Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court today that jihad was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted.
“If you punish them for this, tomorrow, will you punish them for fasting or for praying?” Osman Karahan – a lawyer representing 14 of the 72 suspects - asked during a long speech in which he read religious texts from an encyclopaedia of Islam.
The Arabic word jihad can mean holy war among extremists in addition to its definition as the Islamic concept of the struggle to do good.
Karahan spoke for three hours reading from four large files.
“If non-Muslims go into Muslim lands, it is every Muslim’s obligation to fight them,” Karahan said.
The judge listened to Karahan patiently, without speaking.
Twenty-nine of the suspects were brought to the courthouse for the hearing, handcuffed and escorted by paramilitary police on each arm. They sat in the middle of the courtroom, surrounded by police.
More than a dozen other lawyers were also present but only Karahan spoke in the morning session.
Four of the militants – the suspected ringleaders – face life sentences. Thirty-seven other defendants face between seven and 22 and a half years in prison for charges ranging from aiding and abetting terrorism to membership of a terrorist group.
The prosecutor has asked the court to acquit the 31 others.
The November 2003 blasts targeted two synagogues, the British consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank, killing 60 people.
| Related Stories: |
|
