Germany: German-Turkish bombmaker sentenced over illegal arms

July 4, 2016 By administrator

A Frankfurt court has sentenced a German-Turkish man to two and a half years in jail for breaking weapons laws, after police found a bomb in his cellar. He had originally been accused of planning to attack a bike race.

The 36-year old from the town of Oberursel, near Frankfurt, was guilty of possession of illegal weapons and falsification of documents, the court ruled on Monday.

The police arrested Halil D. and his wife in April last year, following a tip from a supply store that the couple had bought chemicals that could be used for homemade bombs. The two provided fake personal details during the purchase, police said.

During the search of the defendant’s home, the authorities also found a pipe bomb, an assault rifle, ammunition and a bazooka grenade. According to unconfirmed information, the couple was scoping out the route of a large bicycle race scheduled for May 1. The officials canceled the event due to safety fears.

Islamist ties

The dual Turkish-German national was already known to police for a range of offenses, including assault. He was reported to have close ties with Islamist extremists in Germany. Police also said they found videos of a violent and extremist nature while searching computers seized in the couple’s Oberursel residence.

The defendant’s wife was soon released, however, after claiming she did not know about the materials her husband kept in the basement. She said they had bought the chemicals to remove mould.

During the trial, the man claimed that he had made the pipe bomb as a teenager some 20 years ago, and forgotten about it.

The court said there was not enough evidence showing that the defendant had considered an attack. Instead, he was convicted of keeping the illegal weapons cache.

dj/tj (dpa, AFP, AP)

Armenia The new constitution “illegal” would make spontaneous gatherings

July 30, 2015 By administrator

Civic activists and opposition members in Armenia consider the proposed amendment to the constitutional article on freedom of assembly as an attempt by the authorities to abolish the notion of rallies “spontaneous”.

Unlike the current article of the constitution which clearly states that “everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, without arms”, some restrictions are proposed in the new amendments.

Thus, one of the changes called for “notification” of outdoor meetings “within reasonable time”.

Some eminent specialists in law of Armenia consider this provision as potentially “dangerous”.

Ara Ghazarian, a specialist in international law, believes that in this case the new Constitution does in fact leave no room for spontaneous gatherings.

“If passed in this form, in practice, the outdoor gatherings can be inferred that can not be held that the prior notification requirement, and that otherwise they may be unconstitutional,” a-t- he adds.

Sanasarian David, a leader of the civic group standing Armenia, currently campaigning against rising electricity prices, for its part considers that spontaneous meetings have created problems for Armenian authorities and they want s’ rid of it.

“They want to be informed in advance of these initiatives to visit citizens in their homes and create to create their problems,” he says.

Armen Martirosian, the opposition Heritage party, has also expressed concern about another article of the draft Constitution, which deals with freedom of assembly, in which the right may be limited not only in order to ensure national security , public order and crime prevention but also for “the protection of morals”.

“There is no ideal state in the world where the moral standards would also be constitutional standards because it is moral for me perhaps immoral for someone else, and vice versa,” he said.

The main criticism of the main opposition parties of Armenia regarding the draft constitutional amendments, which were unveiled by the reform committee earlier this month is that they attempt to “perpetuate” the power the current party affairs by the transformation of Armenia into a parliamentary republic.

The Heritage party, the Armenian National Congress and some other opposition parties insist that President Serzh Sargsyan, in which the current Armenian Constitution prohibited from seeking a third presidential term, would provide to ensure its continued leadership in another function after finishing his term in 2018.

Last year, Sargsyan promised not to seek a high responsibility position if the constitutional reform was carried out.

Thursday, July 30, 2015,
Ara © armenews.com

Turkey: Erdogan’s palace declared illegal by Turkish court

May 27, 2015 By administrator

The Turkish Supreme Court has ruled that the construction of an 1,100-room palace by President Erdogan was illegal. The palace was constructed on protected land.

Tuesday’s decision by Turkey’s Supreme Court revoked the building permit that had been issued to build President President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s palace after the fact because it had been illegally built on protected land. report DW

The palace was inaugurated in October to coincide with Erdogan’s transition from head of government as Prime Minister to head of state as President. The building has had plenty of critics, many of whom focus on the construction costs of just over 500 million euros (well over $600 million) for the 1,100-room palace.

The presidential palace, popularly dubbed Ak Saray (“White Palace”) was built under controversial circumstances, in a wooded area within the Ataturk Forest Farm in Ankara. The construction went ahead despite environmental concerns and court orders, prompting its critics to instead call it Kacak Saray (“Illegal Palace”).

It appears now that they may be right with the moniker, however it remains unclear if the court decision will have any consequences for Erdogan or the completed palace.

Parliamentary elections in Turkey are approaching on June 7. As president, Erdogan is not allowed to partipate in any campaigning, but his recent speeches have carried a distinct undertone of support for the AKP, the party he previously led as prime minister. There is also increased support in Turkey for Erdogan’s plan of assigning more powers to his new role as president, currently seen as a largely ceremonial role.

mz/msh (AP, dpa, AFP)

Greece reacts to Erdoğan’s visit to KKTC, says it is illegal

September 2, 2014 By administrator

Athens has reacted to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), saying his visit to the island is “illegal” and his statements during the visit show that Turkey will continue to pursue an “aggressive policy” against Greek Cyprus.

In a written statement released on Monday on the Greek Foreign Ministry’s website, spokesperson Konstantinos Koutras commented on the remarks Erdoğan made concerning his visit to the KKTC.

“The newly elected president of Turkey, Mr. Erdoğan, carried out an illegal visit to the occupied section of Cyprus, making disappointing statements that simply confirm Ankara’s persistence in its aggressive policy against the Republic of Cyprus,” Koutras said, adding that Greek Cyprus is a member state of the European Union, to which Turkey has applied for membership, and that “Turkey’s European course passes through the recognition of” Greek Cyprus.

After his inauguration on Aug. 28, Erdoğan paid his first visit abroad as president of Turkey to the KKTC on Monday in a bid to show Ankara’s solidarity with Turkish Cypriots. During his visit, Erdoğan called on Greece, as a guarantor country in the dispute, to “fulfill its duty” as Turkey does, saying that the window of opportunity will not remain open forever. He also criticized Greek Cyprus for its lack of will to achieve reconciliation during a press conference in İstanbul. He said that the Cyprus problem can be solved through reciprocal good will; however, Greek Cyprus has never adopted a “positive approach” towards reunification.

Koutras also responded to Erdoğan’s call for Greece to play a more conciliatory role, saying that Erdoğan is attempting “to equate certain of Greece’s international obligations with Turkey’s heavy burden of responsibility regarding the Cyprus issue.” He added that any such correlation is “historically and legally groundless and, thus, politically unacceptable” and underlined that Turkey bears responsibility for ending the “illegal military occupation and ongoing crime of settlement” in Cyprus.

“Moreover, if Turkey wants, as it claims, to facilitate the negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus issue, it should, without any further delay, proceed to practical moves of good will, comply with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR], and end any illegal or provocative activity in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf,” the Foreign Ministry official stated.

Cyprus has been divided between the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey sent troops to the island in the aftermath of a Greek-inspired coup that sought to unite the island with Greece. The Greek Cypriot administration is internationally recognized as representing the entire island, while only Turkey recognizes the KKTC.

Reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cyprus resumed at the beginning of this year; however, they haven’t produced any result thus far. Negotiations have repeatedly stumbled over issues ranging from power sharing to redrawing territorial boundaries, as well as property claims of tens of thousands of displaced persons.