Istanbul bombings: Three more charged
A Turkish court charged three more alleged accomplices in the Istanbul suicide bombings with membership in an illegal organisation and aiding an illegal organisation.
The charges, which are related to the bombings of the British Consulate and a British bank, are punishable by up to five years in prison and follow the recent arrests of 15 other people.
A prosecutor had also petitioned the state security court, which handles terrorism cases, to order the arrest of another suspect, but that request was denied, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Private CNN-Turk and NTV television channels said that the suspect had been freed pending trial, but faced similar charges. Two of the new suspects are women.
Four suicide bombings killed a total of 57 people in attacks on two synagogues on November 15 and two other simultaneous bombings of the British Consulate and the HSBC Bank five days later.
Besides those arrested yesterday, 15 other suspected accomplices have already been charged in connection with the bombings, accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order or helping illegal organisations. No trial date has been set.
Earlier yesterday, police questioned 18 Turkish suspects, including four women.
“There are new detentions and they will continue,” Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said.
Police also raided several houses and offices believed to be used by Islamic militants and confiscated material used to make bombs, the daily Vatan reported. Police declined to confirm the report. It was not clear when the raids took place.
Three of the 18 who were questioned today were women. Police carried one woman’s baby into the court. The others included an Iraqi with Swedish citizenship and were released without charges, Anatolia reported.
Britain has warned that further attacks may be imminent in Istanbul and Ankara. Meanwhile, Uefa switched three forthcoming European club matches from Turkey to neutral venues because of security fears.
Turkey’s government and sports officials criticised the decision, saying it amounted to a victory for terrorists.
The attacks also forced organisers to postpone a December 6 Best Model of The World contest to March, daily Hurriyet quoted organiser Erkan Ozerkan as saying. Ozerkan said the decision was taken because many finalists feared travelling to Turkey.
Turkish officials have said all four suicide bombers in the four attacks were Turkish nationals.
Newspapers have said some of them could have been trained in al Qaida camps in Afghanistan or Iran. There have been at least three claims of responsibility claiming to be from al Qaida but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said it was too early to say for sure that al Qaida was behind the attacks.
Police are also investigating possible links between the bombers and Hezbollah, an illegal Islamic group that is not linked to the Lebanon-based group with the same name. Three of the suicide bombers were from the south-eastern town of Bingol – a hotbed of Hezbollah activity.
