ISTANBUL, Oct 13 (AFP) - A leading Turkish Islamic militant known as the 'Caliph of Cologne' was formally charged by a criminal court in Istanbul on Wednesday and sent to jail pending trial a day after he was deported from Germany.
The court charged Metin Kaplan with "attempting to overthrow the secular order by use of arms" as part of proceedings launched against him in absentia. It set the first trial hearing for December 20.
The judge ordered him to be remanded in custody.
The 51-year-old Kaplan is accused of plotting a foiled attack on the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in 1998 and of sending a letter to members of parliament in 1997 declaring that he had set up an Islamic state in Turkey.
During Wednesday's hearing, Kaplan refused to stand up, prompting a warning from the judge that his behaviour amounted to non-recognition and contempt of the court.
When the judge warned the cleric he would be kicked out of the courtroom in future hearings if he continued to do so, Kaplan defended himself by saying he found it difficult to stand because he was tired and sick after spending the night at a police station following his deportation from Germany.
Asked whether he would present his defence arguments to the court, Kaplan asked for more time to confer with his lawyers. His wish was granted.
Kaplan was brought into court earlier in handcuffs and surrounded by anti-terrorist police, a day after being extradited by Germany after long legal battle over his case.
The German authorities had for a long time sought to deport Kaplan but were prevented by the courts, who ruled he could face mistreatment in Turkey.
But on Tuesday, the administrative court in Cologne ruled that despite an ongoing appeal against his expulsion, Kaplan could still be deported.
He was sent to Turkey on a private jet rented by the German authorities, reportedly keen to get him out of the country before he could launch a new appeal.
Kaplan, who had appealed against his expulsion to a federal court, ended a four-year prison term in Germany in March 2003 for inciting members of his Hilafet Devleti group or "Caliphate" to murder a rival Islamic leader.
Germany banned the organization in 2001 using legislation passed after the September 11 attacks in the United States to crack down on Islamic extremists.
The aims of Kaplan's organisation, which is also banned in Turkey, are the creation of an Islamic state in Turkey under the leadership of a Caliph. The group has mounted a hate campaign against Jews and the Turkish and Israeli states.