Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin
Encyclopedia
Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin was a Turkish
supreme court magistrate
, who was shot dead in the nation's supreme courtroom in Ankara
, Turkey
on May 17, 2006 by Alparslan Arslan
.
The alleged reasoning for the murder of Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin and wounding of four of his fellow judges was that they had previously voted against a Turkish school teacher being allowed to wear a traditional Islam
ic headscarf outside work. One of the judges who was shot, voted in favour of allowing the teacher to wear a headscarf outside of work, while the other judges who were wounded, voted against.
According to local news reports, the judges were in the midst of a daily meeting in the capital, when the gunman, who was later identified as a lawyer, burst into the room and fired his weapon. Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead later that day in a hospital in Ankara
. Police captured the gunman as he tried to escape. According to witnesses, the lawyer shouted, "Allahu Akbar
(God is the greatest). His anger will be upon you!"
His death has led to demonstrations in Turkey of support for secularism
. The President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
was applauded as he attended the funeral and warned that "no-one will be able to overthrow the [secular] regime". The Turkish press has widely condemned the attacks. Also ,the former secularist prime minister Bülent Ecevit attended his funereal in spite of his bad health condition.. After the funereal, Ecevit had a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma.
The shooting represents a rise in tensions between the fundamentalist secular apparatus of state
and supporters of religious rights, as well as Islamic fundamentalism
.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
supreme court magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, who was shot dead in the nation's supreme courtroom in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
on May 17, 2006 by Alparslan Arslan
Alparslan Arslan
Alparslan Arslan is a Turkish criminal convicted for murdering Council of State member Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin, and wounding four others. He also took part in the bombing of the newspaper Cumhuriyet along with Osman Yıldırım, İsmail Sağır, and Erhan Timuroğlu. All of these events took place from...
.
The alleged reasoning for the murder of Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin and wounding of four of his fellow judges was that they had previously voted against a Turkish school teacher being allowed to wear a traditional Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic headscarf outside work. One of the judges who was shot, voted in favour of allowing the teacher to wear a headscarf outside of work, while the other judges who were wounded, voted against.
According to local news reports, the judges were in the midst of a daily meeting in the capital, when the gunman, who was later identified as a lawyer, burst into the room and fired his weapon. Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead later that day in a hospital in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. Police captured the gunman as he tried to escape. According to witnesses, the lawyer shouted, "Allahu Akbar
Takbir
The Takbīr or Tekbir is the Arabic term for the phrase ' . It is usually translated "God is [the] Greatest," or "God is Great". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression...
(God is the greatest). His anger will be upon you!"
His death has led to demonstrations in Turkey of support for secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
. The President
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
- External links :* , Presidency of the Republic of Turkey...
was applauded as he attended the funeral and warned that "no-one will be able to overthrow the [secular] regime". The Turkish press has widely condemned the attacks. Also ,the former secularist prime minister Bülent Ecevit attended his funereal in spite of his bad health condition.. After the funereal, Ecevit had a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma.
The shooting represents a rise in tensions between the fundamentalist secular apparatus of state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
and supporters of religious rights, as well as Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
.
See also
- Turkish Council of State shootingTurkish Council of State shootingOn 17 May 2006, a gunman named Alparslan Arslan made his way into the Turkish Council of State building and subsequently shot dead one judge and injured four others....
- Ergenekon (organization)
- List of assassinated people from Turkey