Gunman injures five Turkish judges in court attack

By Hidir Goktas

ANKARA (Reuters) – A gunman opened fire in Turkey’s top
administrative court on Wednesday injuring five judges, a court
official told Reuters.

A court official had earlier said one judge died in the
attack, but later said the judge was wounded. One judge was in
a critical condition with head injuries.

Television pictures showed injured people being carried
away to ambulances from the court, the Council of State, which
is in the heart of Ankara. Police imposed tight security around
the building.

“We condemn this attack with disgust, whoever is behind it.
The investigation is continuing and the attacker has been
detained,” Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters outside
the court.

The CNN Turk Web site said the attack occurred in the
court’s second chamber during a committee meeting. The
chamber’s chairman Mustafa Birden was among the injured.

The wounded were being treated in hospital.

Police have detained the gunman and were questioning him at
the local police headquarters. The motive for the attack was
not known but the Web site said the attacker, wielding a
handgun, was believed to be a lawyer.

Private news channel NTV reported eyewitnesses as saying
the gunman had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) and
“may God’s wrath be upon you” as he carried out the attack.

The court’s second chamber deals with education issues and
has been the target of criticism from Islamist circles due to
its hardline secularist implementation of an official ban on
wearing headscarves in official places.

Islamic militants, Kurdish separatists and far-leftists
have all carried out armed attacks in Turkey in recent years.