(New York, November 20, 2003) Bombings this week in Istanbul showed callous disregard for civilian life, Human Rights Watch said today.
These bombings are terrible crimes that display an appalling indifference to civilian life.
Rachel Denber
Acting Executive Director
Europe and Central Asia
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Car-bomb blasts today at the British Consulate and the headquarters of the London-based HSBC Bank in Istanbul claimed at least 27 lives, and wounded 390 people in and around the buildings. The apparently coordinated attacks came after two similar bomb attacks on synagogues in the city on November 15, in which 26 people were killed. An Islamist organization linked to al-Qaeda and other armed militant groups abroad claimed responsibility for the attacks on the synagogues, and it seems likely that the same group, or a similar militant organization, was responsible for today’s killings.
“These bombings are terrible crimes that display an appalling indifference to civilian life,” said Rachel Denber, acting executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch. “Violence of this kind threatens the stability of a country that is finding its way out of conflict and moving toward respect for human rights and the rule of law.”
Human Rights Watch called for a thorough investigation of the bombings, and for those found responsible to be prosecuted in a trial with full guarantees of due process in accordance with international standards.
