First Anniversary Of Attack On Council Of State: Ozbilgin Remembered

ANKARA - Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin, member of the Turkish Council of State who was killed in last year`s armed attack, was commemorated on the first anniversary of the attack in a ceremony held at the Council of State HQ in Ankara, on Thursday.
The ceremony was attended by the wife of Ozbilgin, his two sons, Chief Judge of the Constitutional Court Tulay Tugcu, Chief Judge of the Court of Accounts Mehmet Damar, Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutor Nuri Ok and other high ranking members of Turkish courts.
Taking the floor at the ceremony, Council of State Chief Judge Sumru Cortoglu said, "the attack on members of the Council of State Second Chamber was the first of its kind targeting a higher court in the history of Turkey. Any attack on the judiciary targets the public order as a whole. Therefore, the real target of the last year`s heinous attack was the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation. This attack reminded us in the most bitter way that we should be careful about such a mentality targeting basic institutions of our country by ignoring the Republic and secular state regime."
On the other hand, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message on the first anniversary of the attack on the Council of State.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Judge Osman Arslan said in a written statement, "to kill a judge because of a decision he made is nothing but a crime against humanity. This inhuman attack will remain as a stain in the history."