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COURT ACQUITS Ä°GCI IN DINK MURDER CASE
Today's Zaman
Feb 13 2012
Turkey
A court has acquitted CoÅ~_kun Ä°gci, one of 19 defendants in the
murder case of Hrant Dink, the founder and former editor-in-chief
of the Armenian-Turkish Agos weekly who was assassinated in 2007 in
front of his office in Ä°stanbul, after forgetting to include him in
the final verdict in January.
Ä°gci, who allegedly called on Yasin Hayal to buy a gun with which
to shoot Dink, was accidentally left out of the final verdict and
the judge issued a ruling separately for him on Monday.
On Sept. 19, 2011, the prosecution recommended his acquittal on the
grounds that there was no substantial evidence to suggest he took
part in the crime.
Ä°gci's lawyer said at the court on Monday that his client has no
ties to the murder except for being the uncle of Hayal, one of the
main suspects.
Ä°gci said at the court that he had informed gendarmerie intelligence
officers in Trabzon that a plan to assassinate Dink was in place four
months prior to the murder.
"I am not guilty. The people I reported about were tried in Trabzon and
they were punished because they neglected their duties. Those people
are Col. Ali Oz, Capt. Metin Yıldız, non-commissioned officer Orhan
Å~^imÅ~_ek and Sgt. Veysel Å~^ahin," he said.
When a judge at the court asked Ä°gci if he had been in contact with
those four people, Ä°gci replied that he had contacted Å~^imÅ~_ek
and Å~^ahin.
The Ä°stanbul 14th High Criminal Court hearing issued its ruling on
Jan. 17 in the 25th hearing of the case. Hayal and Erhan Tuncel,
the main suspects, who were accused of being instigators, and all
other suspects, were cleared of charges of membership in a terrorist
organization.
The prosecutor and the Dink family's lawyers accused them of acting
under the orders of a clandestine criminal network suspected of having
ties with senior state officials and military and police officers.
The court handed down a life sentence to Hayal, while Tuncel was given
10 years and six months in prison for his involvement in the bombing
of a McDonald's restaurant in 2004. Gunman Ogun Samast was sentenced
last July to nearly 23 years in prison by a separate juvenile court.
Tuncel was released.
Today's Zaman
Feb 13 2012
Turkey
A court has acquitted CoÅ~_kun Ä°gci, one of 19 defendants in the
murder case of Hrant Dink, the founder and former editor-in-chief
of the Armenian-Turkish Agos weekly who was assassinated in 2007 in
front of his office in Ä°stanbul, after forgetting to include him in
the final verdict in January.
Ä°gci, who allegedly called on Yasin Hayal to buy a gun with which
to shoot Dink, was accidentally left out of the final verdict and
the judge issued a ruling separately for him on Monday.
On Sept. 19, 2011, the prosecution recommended his acquittal on the
grounds that there was no substantial evidence to suggest he took
part in the crime.
Ä°gci's lawyer said at the court on Monday that his client has no
ties to the murder except for being the uncle of Hayal, one of the
main suspects.
Ä°gci said at the court that he had informed gendarmerie intelligence
officers in Trabzon that a plan to assassinate Dink was in place four
months prior to the murder.
"I am not guilty. The people I reported about were tried in Trabzon and
they were punished because they neglected their duties. Those people
are Col. Ali Oz, Capt. Metin Yıldız, non-commissioned officer Orhan
Å~^imÅ~_ek and Sgt. Veysel Å~^ahin," he said.
When a judge at the court asked Ä°gci if he had been in contact with
those four people, Ä°gci replied that he had contacted Å~^imÅ~_ek
and Å~^ahin.
The Ä°stanbul 14th High Criminal Court hearing issued its ruling on
Jan. 17 in the 25th hearing of the case. Hayal and Erhan Tuncel,
the main suspects, who were accused of being instigators, and all
other suspects, were cleared of charges of membership in a terrorist
organization.
The prosecutor and the Dink family's lawyers accused them of acting
under the orders of a clandestine criminal network suspected of having
ties with senior state officials and military and police officers.
The court handed down a life sentence to Hayal, while Tuncel was given
10 years and six months in prison for his involvement in the bombing
of a McDonald's restaurant in 2004. Gunman Ogun Samast was sentenced
last July to nearly 23 years in prison by a separate juvenile court.
Tuncel was released.