Second Hearing Of Istanbul Suicide Bomb Suspects Starts Today

ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - The Istanbul suicide bomb blast suspects have not appeared before the Istanbul State Security Court due to the NATO summit on the first day of the second session of the landmark trials.
The 12 suspects, held in Kocaeli Kandýra F type prison including suspected Al Qaeda Turkey ring leaders Fevzi Yitiz, Yusuf Polat, Harun Ýlhan and Adnan Ersöz did not appeared before the Istanbul State Security Court as the road leading to Istanbul Security Court was closed due to the Summit.
The Istanbul governor's office last week announced that the suspects would not appear before the courts during two-day NATO summit due to security concerns.
The landmark trial of the Istanbul suicide bomb attacks began on May 29th. A total of 69 suspects appeared before the Istanbul State Security Court during the five-day long opening hearing of the trial. The Court freed three suspects during the opening hearing after which the trial was adjourned until the end of June 2004.
The second hearing of the mammoth trial started today and will last five days. In the opening hearing of the trail, the Court judge had ruled that the State Security Courts (DGM) have no authority to act because the DGMs have been abolished by the recent EU-inspired constitutional amendment package.
During the one-month interval, the new courts have not been created to take on the trial. In today's session of the second hearing of the trial, Court chief Þerafettin Ýste said that the DGMs were abolished and the new courts were not founded yet. "Therefore, we cannot start trying the suspects." '
The 128-page case indictment states that five of the suspects could face life sentences while the remaining suspects could face sentences ranging from 4.5 years to 22.5 years.
The suspects will be charged with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, with being members of an illegal terrorist organization and with aiding and abetting an illegal terrorist organization.
A Turkish cell of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network carried out the suicide attacks which targeted Jewish and British interests in Istanbul last November, killing 61 people and injuring over 750.