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WORLD NEWSMonday 12 October 2015
Islamic State could gain from Turkish peace rally bombing
SUZAN FRASER activists near a town bor- Selahattin Demirtas, leader of the pro Kurdish Democratic Party of Peoples (HDP) talks to the
Associated Press dering Syria in July. media after visiting relatives of people wounded at the explosions in Ankara, Turkey. Two bomb
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Police detained 14 sus- explosions targeted a peace rally, organized by the country’s public sector workers’ trade union,
Thousands mourned the 95 pected Islamic State mem- in the Turkish capital killing dozens of people and injuring scores of others.
victims of Turkey’s deadli- bers Sunday in the central
est attack in years as state Turkish city of Konya, but it (Depo Photos via AP)
inspectors tried Sunday to wasn’t clear if they were
identify who sent suicide related. ters and positions in the Zap its wing, was not able to the blast site to lay carna-
bombers to a rally promot- Some Turkish media de- and Metina regions of Iraq. prevent a massacre in the tions. A group of about 70
ing peace with Kurdish reb- clared that peace itself was While no one group has heart of Ankara,” said Se- was eventually allowed
els. under attack. The bombers been ruled out in the lahattin Demirtas, co-chair- to enter the cordoned off
The government said Kurd- struck hours before Kurdish bombings, government man of the pro-Kurdish area.
ish rebels or Islamic State rebels battling Turkish secu- opponents blamed secu- People’s Democracy Party. More than 10,000 also
militants were likely re- rity forces followed through rity forces for failing to pro- On Sunday, police fired gathered in Turkey’s mostly
sponsible, while mourners with plans to declare a tect the peace rally. tear gas and scuffled with Kurdish southeastern city of
accused President Recep unilateral cease-fire, to re- “The state which gets in- the mourners — some Diyarbakir, holding a mo-
Tayyip Erdogan of foment- duce tensions leading up formation about the bird chanting “Murderer Erdo- ment of silence for the vic-
ing violence to gain votes to Nov. 1 elections. that flies and every flap of gan!” — who tried to reach tims, including hundreds of
for the ruling party. Turkey’s government re-
No one has claimed re- jected the declaration,
sponsibility, but the attack saying the rebels must lay
bears similarities to a sui- down arms for good and
cide bombing the govern- leave the country. Turkey’s
ment blames on the Islamic military meanwhile carried
State group that killed 33 out more cross-border air-
Turkish and Kurdish peace strikes against Kurdish shel-
Iran tight-lipped on Post reporter’s verdict
AMIR VAHDAT been reached. ruling includes a verdict
Associated Press Ejehi said the verdict can or a sentence - or even
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s be appealed within 20 whether its contents have
judiciary said Sunday that days. He said he did not been communicated to
a verdict has been issued know if the verdict had Jason or his lawyer,” Baron
in the case of Washing- been given to Rezaian or said in an emailed state-
ton Post reporter Jason his lawyer, Leila Ahsan. ment.
Rezaian, who has been Ahsan told The Associated The Post maintains Rezaian
detained for more than a Press “there are no new de- is innocent and, along with
year on espionage allega- velopments” and said she U.S. officials and media
tions, but did not say what has not received the ver- rights groups, has repeat-
the verdict is. dict. The Post’s executive edly pressed for his release.
“The verdict has been is- editor, Martin Baron, called It says he was held for
sued,” judiciary spokesman the judiciary official’s state- months in isolation without
Gholam Hossein Mohseni ment “vague and puzzling” access to a lawyer, and lat-
Ejehi said in response to a and said it “only adds to er had only limited oppor-
question at a weekly news the injustice that has sur- tunity with his legal counsel
briefing, according to the rounded Jason’s case.” He before his trial began.
official IRNA news agency. said the newspaper has no “The only thing that has
It was the first time an Irani- further information beyond ever been clear about this
an judicial official has con- what was announced. case is Jason’s innocence,”
firmed that a verdict has “It is not clear whether this Baron said.q
