Several suspects interviewed by police in connection with last week’s twin bomb attacks against British targets in Istanbul were sent to a state security court in Istanbul on Wednesday.
The NTV news channel put their number at 18, including four women, saying they would be questioned by the chief prosecutor before a likely court appearance in which they could be charged.
The male suspects covered their faces with their jackets as they were hauled in by police, while the women, all dressed in black chadors, also walked the gauntlet of an army of photographers outside the court building.
One police officer was seen carrying a toddler of about two years of age, possibly the child of one of the women suspects, an AFP photographer said.
Nine people have already been charged over last Thursday’s suicide car bomb attacks against the British consulate and the offices of the London-based HSBC bank in Istanbul, which claimed 30 lives.
Another six people, arrested after the first wave of bombings against two synagogues in Istanbul on November 15, have also been charged in connection with the attacks.
A police official in capital Ankara said earlier on Wednesday that at least 40 people were in custody to answer questions about the bombings.
”The figure is probably more than that,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Thirteen more people were detained and questioned in Ankara in connection with the attacks, but most have since been released, he added.
”One or two suspects are still being questioned,” he said, adding that they were likely to appear before a state security court before the end of the week.
Turkish law allows for detainees to be held by police for a maximum of four days before the prosecutor in charge of the investigation asks for court permission to hold them longer or before they are formally charged before a court. — Sapa-AFP