Bomb suspects' lawyer tells court of 'Muslim obligation'

A lawyer defending al-Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court today that jihad was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted.

“If you punish them for this, tomorrow, will you punish them for fasting or for praying?” Osman Karahan – a lawyer representing 14 of the 72 suspects - asked during a long speech in which he read religious texts from an encyclopaedia of Islam.