Turkey charges bombing suspect

The suspect appeared on Turkish TV but has not been named

A court in Turkey has charged a man suspected of planning a suicide bomb attack on a synagogue two weeks ago.

The attack on Beth Israel synagogue was one of four bombings against British and Jewish targets in Istanbul this month which killed more than 60 people.

The suspect, who was seized on Tuesday at the Iranian border with a fake passport, was charged with subversion.

He is the first person to be linked to one of the attacks although dozens of arrests have reportedly been made.

TERROR IN ISTANBUL 15 November attacks Beth Israel synagogue in Sisli district Neve Shalom synagogue in Beyoglu district 20 November attacks British Consulate General and HSBC bank

The court charged the man with attempting to overthrow Turkey's "constitutional order by force" - a charge which carries life imprisonment and has been used in past terror trials.

No trial date was set before the man was whisked off to Istanbul's Bayrampasa Prison, the Turkish news agency Anatolia reports.

Earlier on Saturday, the suspect was taken by police to the site of the wrecked synagogue, where three Jews and a policeman died.

"It is understood that the arrested person carried out intelligence gathering on Beth Israel synagogue prior to the attack, went to the location with other accomplices on the day of the attack and ordered the start of the attack," police spokesman Halil Yilmaz told reporters.

Bingol connection

A major security operation was in place in the surrounding streets during the reconstruction, with anti-terrorist police and armoured vehicles deployed at nearby junctions.

He was filmed being made to reconstruct his alleged movements and gestures on the day of the bombing.

Turkish authorities have already identified the synagogue bombers as Mesut Cabuk and Gokhan Elaltuntas. The two men were reportedly from the same impoverished town in south-eastern Turkey, Bingol.

A report on Turkish TV said the suspect was the brother of Cabuk, while other reports said the alleged bomber's wife had been detained and brought to Istanbul for questioning.

On Friday, security officials in the same region named a known Islamic militant, Habib Aktas, as the driver of a truck laden with explosives which exploded outside the Istanbul headquarters of the UK-based HSBC bank on November 20.

DNA from Mr Aktas' father were used to identify remains found at the scene of the bombing.

The bomber of the other British target, the consulate in Istanbul, has yet to be identified.

Consular services switched

Limited UK visa services are due to resume in Turkey on Monday, although not at the Istanbul consulate, which used to handle the bulk of visa applications.

Applicants will have to go to the British embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

An embassy statement said the consulate would remain closed "for some time" because of the extensive damage caused by the bombing.