Tweet
SENIOR OFFICIALS MAY FACE TRIAL OVER HRANT DINK MURDER
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Oct 23 2014
The Justice Ministry ordered prosecutors to include Istanbul's
former police chief and deputy governor in an investigation into the
controversial murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
Daily Sabah Updated : 23.10.2014 09
ISTANBUL -- The Justice Ministry has annulled the verdict of nonsuit
for nine officials, paving the way for their trial for failing to
prevent the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink.
The Bakırköy Heavy Criminal Court of Istanbul had earlier ruled for a
trial of the officials, while the Chief Prosecutor's Office objected,
citing "lack of grounds for legal action." The ministry rejected the
prosecutor's office plea.
Among those who face trial are former Deputy Governor Ergun Gungör,
Turkish National Police's Istanbul directorate head Celalettin Cerrah,
former Istanbul police intelligence unit head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler and
six senior police officers.
The family of Hrant Dink had filed a lawsuit against the nine officials
in 2011 but heeding the advice of an Interior Ministry inspector,
the Istanbul Governorate that oversees the judicial affairs of the
police, did not authorize the investigation. After this development,
the prosecutor's office told the court that there were no legal grounds
for the investigation. However, the Dink family appealed to the court
again for the investigation of officials.
Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Agos, was known
for his staunch stance on the thorny issue of the 1915 incidents that
Armenia terms as the "genocide of Armenians in Turkey." Dink had called
for a public debate over the issue and called for reconciliation
between Turks and Armenians on the issue. But his definition of
the deaths during a mass exodus as "genocide" angered nationalists,
leading to Dink receiving death threats.
He was murdered outside his office by 17-year-old Ogun Samast on
Jan.19, 2007. Treatment of the suspect by police sparked controversy
after photos of police officers posing with Samast after the murder
against the backdrop of a Turkish flag surfaced. A number of other
suspects, who were accused of masterminding the murder, were arrested
and sentenced to various prison terms.
Further investigation showed prosecutors who worked on the case ignored
serious allegations into the involvement of top police officers in the
murder. Those prosecutors are accused of having ties with the Gulen
Movement, a group whose widespread infiltration of the judiciary and
police enabled them to influence cases or fabricate them for their own
interests. Prosecutors allegedly dismissed allegations about Ramazan
Akyurek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer, two senior police officers linked to
the Gulen Movement. Akyurek and Yılmazer are accused of helping the
murder suspects.
Sabri Uzun, who was head of the National Police Intelligence
Department, had claimed his subordinates hid tip-offs warning
against the murder of Dink. Questioned about the murder, Uzun has
said Yılmazer hid from him an intelligence report regarding a plot
to kill Dink.
Yılmazer was arrested in September for a separate case involving
illegal wiretapping. Inspectors from the Prime Ministry Inspection
Board, which carried out a separate investigation on the murder on
the instruction of the Prime Ministry, told police that Yılmazer
and Akyurek had threatened them and demanded inspectors to dismiss
the case.
http://www.dailysabah.com/investigations/2014/10/23/senior-officials-may-face-trial-over-hrant-dink-murder
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Oct 23 2014
The Justice Ministry ordered prosecutors to include Istanbul's
former police chief and deputy governor in an investigation into the
controversial murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
Daily Sabah Updated : 23.10.2014 09
ISTANBUL -- The Justice Ministry has annulled the verdict of nonsuit
for nine officials, paving the way for their trial for failing to
prevent the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink.
The Bakırköy Heavy Criminal Court of Istanbul had earlier ruled for a
trial of the officials, while the Chief Prosecutor's Office objected,
citing "lack of grounds for legal action." The ministry rejected the
prosecutor's office plea.
Among those who face trial are former Deputy Governor Ergun Gungör,
Turkish National Police's Istanbul directorate head Celalettin Cerrah,
former Istanbul police intelligence unit head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler and
six senior police officers.
The family of Hrant Dink had filed a lawsuit against the nine officials
in 2011 but heeding the advice of an Interior Ministry inspector,
the Istanbul Governorate that oversees the judicial affairs of the
police, did not authorize the investigation. After this development,
the prosecutor's office told the court that there were no legal grounds
for the investigation. However, the Dink family appealed to the court
again for the investigation of officials.
Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Agos, was known
for his staunch stance on the thorny issue of the 1915 incidents that
Armenia terms as the "genocide of Armenians in Turkey." Dink had called
for a public debate over the issue and called for reconciliation
between Turks and Armenians on the issue. But his definition of
the deaths during a mass exodus as "genocide" angered nationalists,
leading to Dink receiving death threats.
He was murdered outside his office by 17-year-old Ogun Samast on
Jan.19, 2007. Treatment of the suspect by police sparked controversy
after photos of police officers posing with Samast after the murder
against the backdrop of a Turkish flag surfaced. A number of other
suspects, who were accused of masterminding the murder, were arrested
and sentenced to various prison terms.
Further investigation showed prosecutors who worked on the case ignored
serious allegations into the involvement of top police officers in the
murder. Those prosecutors are accused of having ties with the Gulen
Movement, a group whose widespread infiltration of the judiciary and
police enabled them to influence cases or fabricate them for their own
interests. Prosecutors allegedly dismissed allegations about Ramazan
Akyurek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer, two senior police officers linked to
the Gulen Movement. Akyurek and Yılmazer are accused of helping the
murder suspects.
Sabri Uzun, who was head of the National Police Intelligence
Department, had claimed his subordinates hid tip-offs warning
against the murder of Dink. Questioned about the murder, Uzun has
said Yılmazer hid from him an intelligence report regarding a plot
to kill Dink.
Yılmazer was arrested in September for a separate case involving
illegal wiretapping. Inspectors from the Prime Ministry Inspection
Board, which carried out a separate investigation on the murder on
the instruction of the Prime Ministry, told police that Yılmazer
and Akyurek had threatened them and demanded inspectors to dismiss
the case.
http://www.dailysabah.com/investigations/2014/10/23/senior-officials-may-face-trial-over-hrant-dink-murder