Court reveals motives behind al-Qaeda suspects’ sentence

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Hürriyet Photo

A court in Turkey has declared the reasons behind its ruling imposing prison sentences on seven suspects allegedly linked to al-Qaeda for conducting terrorist activities as part of the organization.

The suspects, who were sentenced to between 2 and 6 years of prison, were educated in Pakistan and came to Turkey to conduct activities as part of al-Qaeda, the court found. One of the suspects told another that, “he was thinking of being a suicide bomber in jihad areas and that his return to Turkey had a reason, he could go to the bars where American soldiers from Turkey’s İncirlik base go and conduct an attack against them,” the court’s ruling said.

The Court also stated in its ruling that documents linked to al-Qaeda’s aims and activities were found at the suspects’ houses. However, the lawyer of Halil Abanoz, one of the suspects, denied the Court’s allegations, saying that they would continue their legal battle.