Tweet
Reuters , UK
Feb 2 2007
Turk police probe TV images of Dink murder suspect
Fri Feb 2, 2007 7:58am ET
By Paul de Bendern
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey launched an inquiry into footage showing a
teenager charged with the murder of a Turkish-Armenian journalist
posing with the Turkish flag and security officials after his arrest,
police said on Friday.
Hrant Dink was shot outside his Istanbul office on January 19. His
funeral drew 100,000 mourners on to the streets in protest at the
militant nationalism that apparently inspired his killer.
A 17-year-old unemployed youth, Ogun Samast, has confessed to the
murder.
Turkey's leading television channels showed video footage of Samast
posing in front of a Turkish flag, and holding another flag next to
security officials dressed in paramilitary and regular police
uniforms shortly after his arrest on January 21.
The Gendarmerie, Turkey's paramilitary police, denied reports the
footage was shot at one of their offices in Samsun, the city where
Samast was arrested after a nationwide manhunt.
Media said the images suggested Samast was treated like a hero.
"The pictures were shown on television in the evening (of Thursday)
and inspectors will clarify who took the pictures and why. We in the
police will do everything necessary," national police spokesman
Ismail Caliskan told a news conference.
"Whoever is responsible will be given the appropriate punishment."
Dink, 52, had been a hate figure for ultra-nationalists because of
his comments on the mass killing of Armenians on Turkish soil in
1915, still a highly sensitive issue in this European Union candidate
country.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has already questioned whether the
killing was the work of Turkey's so-called "deep state" -- code for
shadowy ultra-nationalist elements in the security forces ready, if
need be, to act outside the law.
"What appears on the video is in itself not new for Turkey. The
difference is that this time the media decided to publish it," said
CNN Turk diplomatic editor Semih Idiz.
"The implications of this scandal are enormous. It's too early to
tell whether ministers will be fired."
Eight people, at least seven of them from the Black Sea province of
Trabzon, have been charged over the murder.
Authorities have been accused of failing to act on warnings that
ultra-nationalists planned to murder Dink. Opposition parties have
demanded the resignation of the interior minister.
Last week, the interior ministry dismissed the police chief and
governor of Trabzon and sent prosecutors to investigate whether local
authorities were at fault.
Liberal newspaper Radikal editor-in-chief Ismet Berkan said the
release of the video images was like killing Dink a second time. He
said it showed extreme nationalism in Turkey was again on the rise.
Pressure is mounting on the government to crack down on
ultra-nationalist groups, a tricky task in a year of presidential and
parliamentary elections.
(Additional reporting by Selcuk Gokoluk in Ankara)
Feb 2 2007
Turk police probe TV images of Dink murder suspect
Fri Feb 2, 2007 7:58am ET
By Paul de Bendern
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey launched an inquiry into footage showing a
teenager charged with the murder of a Turkish-Armenian journalist
posing with the Turkish flag and security officials after his arrest,
police said on Friday.
Hrant Dink was shot outside his Istanbul office on January 19. His
funeral drew 100,000 mourners on to the streets in protest at the
militant nationalism that apparently inspired his killer.
A 17-year-old unemployed youth, Ogun Samast, has confessed to the
murder.
Turkey's leading television channels showed video footage of Samast
posing in front of a Turkish flag, and holding another flag next to
security officials dressed in paramilitary and regular police
uniforms shortly after his arrest on January 21.
The Gendarmerie, Turkey's paramilitary police, denied reports the
footage was shot at one of their offices in Samsun, the city where
Samast was arrested after a nationwide manhunt.
Media said the images suggested Samast was treated like a hero.
"The pictures were shown on television in the evening (of Thursday)
and inspectors will clarify who took the pictures and why. We in the
police will do everything necessary," national police spokesman
Ismail Caliskan told a news conference.
"Whoever is responsible will be given the appropriate punishment."
Dink, 52, had been a hate figure for ultra-nationalists because of
his comments on the mass killing of Armenians on Turkish soil in
1915, still a highly sensitive issue in this European Union candidate
country.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has already questioned whether the
killing was the work of Turkey's so-called "deep state" -- code for
shadowy ultra-nationalist elements in the security forces ready, if
need be, to act outside the law.
"What appears on the video is in itself not new for Turkey. The
difference is that this time the media decided to publish it," said
CNN Turk diplomatic editor Semih Idiz.
"The implications of this scandal are enormous. It's too early to
tell whether ministers will be fired."
Eight people, at least seven of them from the Black Sea province of
Trabzon, have been charged over the murder.
Authorities have been accused of failing to act on warnings that
ultra-nationalists planned to murder Dink. Opposition parties have
demanded the resignation of the interior minister.
Last week, the interior ministry dismissed the police chief and
governor of Trabzon and sent prosecutors to investigate whether local
authorities were at fault.
Liberal newspaper Radikal editor-in-chief Ismet Berkan said the
release of the video images was like killing Dink a second time. He
said it showed extreme nationalism in Turkey was again on the rise.
Pressure is mounting on the government to crack down on
ultra-nationalist groups, a tricky task in a year of presidential and
parliamentary elections.
(Additional reporting by Selcuk Gokoluk in Ankara)