Loai al-Saqa

A Syrian member of al-Qaeda, Loa'i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa (Arabic: لؤي محمد حج بكر الصقا‎) was convicted of masterminding and financing the 2003 Istanbul bombings, and in February 2007, was sentenced to 67 life sentences by the Turkish courts.[1]

He was arrested in August 2005, while allegedly planning a bomb attack against an Israeli cruise ship[2] He was accused of supplying Turkish militants $170,000 to perform the bombing.[3]

Unlike some of the six Turkish men also given life sentences for the attacks, al-Saqa maintained his innocence throughout the trial.[1]

al-Saqa's lawyer was banned from the court for "aiding and abetting al-Qaeda", and al-Saqa was twice thrown out of the court himself, once at his first court appearance in March 2006 for refusing to stand and identify himself to the judge[4] and again two months later for wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.[5]

During his trial, al-Saqa was questioned by prosecutor Huseyin Canan about the beheading of British engineer Kenneth Bigley in Iraq.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Seven jailed for Turkey bombings". BBC News. February 17, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  2. ↑ Turchia Oggi: Arretrato anno 6 numero 36 Archived 2007-08-18 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ http://www.mre.gov.br/portugues/noticiario/nacional/selecao_detalhe.asp?ID_RESENHA=310236%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  4. ↑ "Turkey bomb 'linchpin' on trial". BBC News. March 20, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Judge bars 'Guantanamo jumpsuit'". BBC. May 22, 2006.
  6. ↑ Suspect Quizzed On Bigley Beheading |Sky News|World News


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