Pro-Chechen gunmen court appearance

Pro-Chechen gunmen who held 120 people hostage in a luxury hotel in Turkey appeared in court today while court officials decided whether to hold them in custody before their trial.

Thirteen gunmen kept hotel guests, including several Britons, and staff captive for 12 hours at Istanbul’s Swissotel last week before surrendering to police and releasing all the hostages unharmed. The gunmen have been detained by police since their arrest on April 23, but have not been charged.

The 13 suspects and four others accused of providing assistance appeared today before a prosecutor, who was to question them and decide whether they should remain in custody.

They arrived at court in a police van, handcuffed two-by-two. About a dozen relatives gathered outside the courthouse. Journalists and the public were not allowed in the courtroom.

During the hotel siege, the gunmen said they were protesting against Russia’s ‘‘bloody attacks’’ in the Caucasus, where Chechnya is located. They said they had stormed the hotel to draw attention to the Chechen cause.

Turks strongly sympathise with their fellow Muslims in Chechnya. About 25,000 Chechens live in Istanbul and western Turkey, while some five million Turks trace their roots to the Caucasus.

There have been several other hostage-takings in Turkey to bring attention to the violence in Chechnya.

The ringleader of last week’s attack, Muhammed Tokcan, was earlier sentenced for taking passengers hostage on a Black Sea ferry in 1996, but he was released from prison in December.

In March, Chechens hijacked a Russian plane leaving Istanbul and diverted it to Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities stormed the plane, leaving three dead.