New arrests in Council of State shooting

Thursday, June 29, 2006 Turkish Daily News

Two people, one an unregistered preacher, the other a classmate of the shooter, are taken into custody in Istanbul before being sent to Ankara

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

Police took two people linked to Council of State shooter Alparslan Arslan into custody on Wednesday. The suspects were apprehended in Istanbul, before being taken to Ankara.The two suspects were arrested as a result of the questioning of Arslan on Tuesday. The suspects were brought to Ankara by antiterrorism police.One of the suspects is believed to be a preacher at a mosque in Kağıthaane district of Istanbul, while the other is a classmate of Arslan and a practicing lawyer.Arslan is said to have shouted "I'm a soldier of Allah" as he burst into Turkey's highest administrative court, the Council of State, on May 17, killing a senior judge and wounding four others.
He said he wanted to "punish" the judges for rulings upholding a ban on the Islamic headscarf in public institutions and universities in Muslim-majority but strictly secular Turkey, according to court officials.
The unprecedented attack sparked mass pro-secular protests and triggered accusations against the government that its opposition to the headscarf ban and vocal criticism of court rulings had given encouragement to extremists.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan retorted that the attack was "a great conspiracy" to discredit his government, which the secularist establishment, including the influential army, suspects of seeking to reinforce the role of Islam in politics and daily life.
Officials have said the police are investigating whether the attack on the court was masterminded by Arslan or whether it was instigated by others.
The May 17 shooting left political tensions running high in Ankara with accusations that religion-influenced policies followed by the Islamist-rooted government of Erdoğan had emboldened Islamic extremists.
There are currently five suspects under arrest linked to the shootings. Those under arrest are also believed to be involved in the hurling of hand grenades at the Istanbul office of the secularist Cumhuriyet newspaper earlier in May.The prosecution will detail the accusations when it draws up its indictment in the coming days. Investigations have also revealed close links between those who are currently in police custody and various ultranationalist organizations and gangs.