Thursday, May 18, 2006

Gunman kills Turkish judge in court attack

"One of Turkey's most senior judges was killed on Wednesday and four others were injured after a gunman shouting religious slogans burst into a court building in an attack that officials linked to a recent judicial decision on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf.Mustafa Ozbilgin, aged 64 and a member of the Danistay or council of state, was shot in the head by the gunman, who shouted "God is great" and "I am a soldier of Allah" after he stormed into a judges' meeting at the court building in central Ankara at about 10am."

"The attack, and its apparent political and religious overtones, shocked the political, judicial and military establishments and brought swift condemnation. But opposition leaders accused the government, which has roots in political Islam, of fuelling intimidation against judges with whose decisions on religious issues it disagreed.It emerged after the shooting that judges on the council of state had requested greater protection in recent weeks because of threats to their safety relating to decisions they had taken on the headscarf and other sensitive religious and political issues."
MSN Money - Financial Times Business News: Gunman kills Turkish judge in court attack

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