Turkey court orders stabbing retrial

The court wants evidence against Demir to be re-examined

Turkey's Court of Appeals has ordered a retrial for a man convicted of stabbing to death two English soccer fans.

Ali Umit Demir was found guilty last year of killing Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight before a UEFA cup tie between Leeds United and Galatasaray in April 2000.

He was sentenced to 15 years in jail - seven-and-a-half years for each killing.

But an appeal court ruled on Friday that more forensic work should have done to determine whether Loftus' blood was on Demir's knife.

It also said that prosecutors in the new trial should bear in mind that Demir committed the crime under "severe provocation", which could lead to a lighter sentence.

Correspondents say it is unclear whether Demir will be re-tried for both murders, or just Loftus'.

A solicitor for Mr Speight's family said they were appalled by the decision, and that every twist in the affair brought back their pain and suffering.

Championship qualifier

The two men died after running street battles between Leeds supporters and Turkish men in central Istanbul the night before the match.

Kevin Speight left two young children

At the original trial, lawyers for the defence said Mr Loftus and Mr Speight were drunk and insulted the Turkish flag by urinating on it.

The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that Mr Demir had murdered Mr Speight and voted 2-1 that he had murdered Mr Loftus.

The appeal court ordered that Mr Demir should remain in jail pending a new trial.

It also upheld three-month sentences against four other men involved in the fighting.

The decision comes as England are due to travel to Turkey in October for a European Championship qualifier which could decide Group Seven.

However, England have not taken up their ticket allocations in order to limit travel for fans in anticipation of further trouble.

The killings helped to trigger clashes between English and Turkish fans in Copenhagen when Galatasaray played Arsenal in the final of the same tournament.

And England was fined £68,000 (97,400 Euros) following crowd disturbances at a match against Turkey in Sunderland last month.