Turkey frees suspects held over football club attack

A Turkish court on Wednesday released two suspects held for almost two days on suspicion of being behind the gun attack on top flight football team Fenerbahce that shocked the game in the country.
The pair, named only as Nihat S. and Emre A., were released under judicial suspicion but it is not clear if they will face any charges over the attack on the Istanbul giants, the Dogan news agency reported.
They were given a hero's welcome by supporters who embraced them and hoisted them into the air after they walked out of the courthouse in the town of Surmene in the Black Sea region of Trabzon.
The bus carrying Fenerbahce's star-studded side was attacked by a gunman as the team returned from an away victory in the Black Sea region on Saturday, leaving the driver badly hurt.
The shots caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle but a team security official managed to slam on the brakes to prevent it plunging into a ravine, possibly preventing a major tragedy.
Turkish police had at dawn Tuesday detained the two men, with one suspected of opening fire on the bus and the other of trailing the vehicle and filming the incident.
Their arrest had been announced to reporters by the governor of the Trabzon region who said there was evidence they were the culprits.
Some reports said Wednesday that fingerprints found at the scene did not match those of the suspects but there was no further information over the course of the investigation.
Fenerbahce had beaten Caykur Rizespor 5-1 in a Super Lig match in the Black Sea town of Rize and were driving to Trabzon to take a plane back to Istanbul when the bus was attacked.
The club said it would not play again until the incident was resolved and the Turkish Football Federation has suspended the league for one week.
Fenerbahce, which won its 19th Turkish league title in the 2013-14 season, is second in the current Super Lig standings, two points behind arch Istanbul rivals Galatasaray.
The club says it is still a victim of hostility following a match-rigging scandal that it vehemently contests but which resulted in its exclusion from European competition.
Source: AFP