Monday, 22-Sep-2003 7:29AM PDT
ISTANBUL, Sept 22 (AFP) - A Turkish court on Monday acquitted 11 defendants suspected of having links with the al-Qaeda terror network and Afghanistan's former Taliban regime, under provisions of newly adopted EU-linked reforms, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The suspects, who were charged with terrorist offences, were said to be senior members in Turkey of the Beyiat el-Imam (Union of Imams), an organization set up to fight the monarchy in Jordan in 1993, according to the indictment.
But the Istanbul court acquitted them under a legal amendment approved by parliament in July that specifies that terrorist acts involve force or violence.
The court ruled that the defendants had not carried out any acts or activities in Turkey, let alone any that involved force and violence.
According to the indictment, the Beyiat el-Imam group has close links with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Its members allegedly received military and political training in Taliban-run camps in Afghanistan.
The indictment also alleged that other group members had used Turkey as a transit route on their way to Israel to carry out suicide bombing attacks.
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