Gunman injures five Turkish judges in court attack
ANKARA, May 17 (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire in Turkey's top administrative court on Wednesday, injuring five judges in a shooting which the country's leaders condemned as an attack on its secular establishment.
The court's deputy chairwoman said the assailant described himself as a "soldier of Allah" as he carried out the attack. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said it would go down as a "black mark in the Republic's history".
The court, the Council of State, has faced fierce criticism in Islamist circles for hardline implementation of secularist laws such as a headscarf ban in universities and state offices.
The attacker burst into the court's second chamber and started shooting with a handgun during a committee meeting at around 10 a.m. (0700 GMT).
The wounded were treated in hospital and one judge was in a critical condition with head injuries. The chamber's chairman Mustafa Birden was among the injured. A court official initially said one judge died in the attack.
Media reports identified the attacker as a lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association and said he had gone to the court on Tuesday but had been prevented from entering by police.
The CNN Turk Web site reported the assailant as saying in interrogation he had targeted the judges because of a ruling in February preventing a woman from becoming a head teacher because she wore a headscarf. It did not give a source for the report.
"I condemn this ugly attack," Sezer said in a statement.
"Pressure and threats will not intimidate the Turkish judiciary, which will continue its constitutional duties bound to the secular and democratic Republic," he said.
SOLDIERS OF ALLAH
Islamic militants, Kurdish separatists and far-leftists have all carried out attacks in Turkey in recent years.
"The target of the attack is the constitution as well as the Council of State ... Turkey is being dragged towards a very dangerous place," opposition leader Deniz Baykal told reporters.
Television pictures showed injured people being carried away to ambulances from the court in the heart of Ankara. Police imposed tight security around the building.
The gunman had shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) and "may God's wrath be upon you" as he carried out the attack, private news channel NTV reported witnesses as saying.
"The attacker entered the chamber during a meeting and opened fire on each of the members, saying 'we are soldiers of Allah," Council of State Deputy Chairwoman Tansel Colasan told reporters.
In the wake of the attack, local media highlighted February reports in the country's Islamist media which sharply criticised a court ruling banning a head teacher from office. One newspaper published photographs of the judges behind the decision, including some of those wounded on Wednesday.
The court's deputy chairwoman said the assailant described himself as a "soldier of Allah" as he carried out the attack. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said it would go down as a "black mark in the Republic's history".
The court, the Council of State, has faced fierce criticism in Islamist circles for hardline implementation of secularist laws such as a headscarf ban in universities and state offices.
The attacker burst into the court's second chamber and started shooting with a handgun during a committee meeting at around 10 a.m. (0700 GMT).
The wounded were treated in hospital and one judge was in a critical condition with head injuries. The chamber's chairman Mustafa Birden was among the injured. A court official initially said one judge died in the attack.
Media reports identified the attacker as a lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association and said he had gone to the court on Tuesday but had been prevented from entering by police.
The CNN Turk Web site reported the assailant as saying in interrogation he had targeted the judges because of a ruling in February preventing a woman from becoming a head teacher because she wore a headscarf. It did not give a source for the report.
"I condemn this ugly attack," Sezer said in a statement.
"Pressure and threats will not intimidate the Turkish judiciary, which will continue its constitutional duties bound to the secular and democratic Republic," he said.
SOLDIERS OF ALLAH
Islamic militants, Kurdish separatists and far-leftists have all carried out attacks in Turkey in recent years.
"The target of the attack is the constitution as well as the Council of State ... Turkey is being dragged towards a very dangerous place," opposition leader Deniz Baykal told reporters.
Television pictures showed injured people being carried away to ambulances from the court in the heart of Ankara. Police imposed tight security around the building.
The gunman had shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) and "may God's wrath be upon you" as he carried out the attack, private news channel NTV reported witnesses as saying.
"The attacker entered the chamber during a meeting and opened fire on each of the members, saying 'we are soldiers of Allah," Council of State Deputy Chairwoman Tansel Colasan told reporters.
In the wake of the attack, local media highlighted February reports in the country's Islamist media which sharply criticised a court ruling banning a head teacher from office. One newspaper published photographs of the judges behind the decision, including some of those wounded on Wednesday.
posted by Marko at 5/17/2006 08:02:00 AM
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