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Seven jailed for Turkey bombings Seven jailed for Turkey bombings
(about 1 hour later)
A court in Turkey has sentenced seven people to life in prison for the 2003 Istanbul bombings which killed 58 people including the UK consul-general.A court in Turkey has sentenced seven people to life in prison for the 2003 Istanbul bombings which killed 58 people including the UK consul-general.
A Syrian, Loa'i al-Saqa , was jailed for masterminding and securing finance for the attacks on the UK consulate, two synagogues and an HSBC bank branch. A Syrian, Loa'i al-Saqa, was jailed for masterminding and securing finance for the attacks on the UK consulate, two synagogues and an HSBC bank branch.
The remaining six were Turkish citizens convicted of organising the bombings.The remaining six were Turkish citizens convicted of organising the bombings.
More than 70 people are on trial over the attacks, in which hundreds of people were injured. A total of 74 people were tried - many received lighter sentences and 26 of them were acquitted.
As the verdicts were read out to a packed courtroom, several defendants shouted "God is great".
The judge ruled that five of those sentenced to life, including Saqa, should not be allowed to benefit from any sentence reductions or amnesties.
The court was told that a group of men, calling themselves Warriors for Islam, came together to plan the attacks on the direct orders of Osama Bin Laden.
Security has been tightened around the courthouse in IstanbulIn court, many of the defendants admitted attending training camps in Afghanistan for Islamic extremists - but all but one man denied any part in the Istanbul attacks.
Harun Ilhan, one of the men jailed for life, admitted plotting the bombings and being a member of al-Qaeda.
Saqa - who had denied involvement in the attacks - was described by the state prosecutor as a high-level operative for al-Qaeda.
"Hey my hero brothers! Do not worry for me. Victory is very near," Saqa said during final arguments.
UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett welcomed the verdicts.
"These were abhorrent acts, two of which specifically targeted British interests," she said.