The trial of 69 suspected members of a Turkish al-Qaida cell accused in a string of November suicide bombings in Istanbul opened yesterday with leading suspects taken to an Istanbul courthouse to testify.
The truck bombings targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank. Prosecutors say 61 people, including British Consul-General Roger Short, were killed and more than 600 others injured in the attacks.
In their 128-page indictment, prosecutors are demanding life sentences for five suspects who they said played direct roles in the bombings. Paramilitary police yesterday escorted the five as well as several others to the court, where they were expected to testify.
The other 64 suspects could face prison sentences ranging from 4 to 22 years. Several alleged ringleaders remain at large.
In their indictment, Turkish prosecutors allege that Osama bin Laden suggested targets for an attack and his al-Qaida network provided $150,000 to the Turkish militants who carried out the attacks.
According to the indictment, suspected leader Habib Akdas and cell members Baki Yigit and Adnan Ersoz met on several occasions with Abu Hafs al-Masri, a former bin Laden aide. Al-Masri arranged for Akdas and Yigit to meet with bin Laden in 2001 in Afghanistan.
Yigit said the Turkish cell initially proposed kidnapping members of a pro-Western Turkish business group, but the idea was rejected by bin Laden and al-Masri, the indictment said.
Instead, al-Masri and bin Laden suggested attacks against Incirlik Air Base, used by the US military, as well as against Israeli ships in the southern port of Mersin.
Prosecutors are demanding life sentences for five suspected militants charged with a crime similar to treason.
The other 64 are charged with crimes such as membership in an illegal group or aiding terrorists.
Alleged ringleaders Akdas, Gurcan Bac and Azad Ekinci are at large and are believed to be abroad.
The trial's opening sessions are expected to last to the week's end, and the full trial could last months.
Suspected militants with ties to groups linked to al-Qaida have been tried in several other countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany, Italy and Belgium.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of