Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANKARA: Dink Murder Trial Takes New Turn As Court To Focus On 'Crimi

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ANKARA: Dink Murder Trial Takes New Turn As Court To Focus On 'Crimi

    DINK MURDER TRIAL TAKES NEW TURN AS COURT TO FOCUS ON 'CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION' CLAIMS

    Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
    Oct 30 2014

    ISTANBUL

    The trial into the murder of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
    has taken a significant turn after the court in Istanbul overseeing
    the case announced that it will focus on the "criminal organization"
    allegations against suspects, a move that lawyers representing the
    victim's family had demanded since the start of the retrial.

    Istanbul's 5th High Criminal Court ruled on Oct. 30 in line with
    a previous Supreme Court of Appeals decision that overturned the
    verdict of the initial trial process, on the grounds that it overlooked
    investigating the murder of the renowned editor-in-chief of the weekly
    Agos in the context of a planned and organized crime.

    According to the decision, the suspects will be retried on charges
    of being a member of a criminal organization.

    The Supreme Court of Appeals had also overturned the acquittals
    of top suspects including Yasin Hayal, who was charged with being
    the instigator of the assassination and the "leader of a terrorist
    organization." Hayal and other suspects, such as Erhan Tuncel and
    Ersin Yolcu, are also being retried.

    The triggerman Ogun Samast, who was sentenced to 22 years by a
    children's court, is also likely to be tried on new charges, as the
    court ruled to associate his case with the main murder trial. Samast
    was only 17-years-old when he shot Dink in front of his office in
    Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.

    However, lawyers have also been wary of the Supreme Court verdict,
    as it defined the aim of the murder as a "political act," rather
    than an act of terrorism, as they have claimed that an armed terror
    organization was behind the killing. For a murder to be considered a
    "terrorist act," it would have to be committed with a clear aim against
    the state of the public order, according to the Turkish Penal Code.

    Lawyers previously said they would try to prove that the activities
    of the organization went beyond the assassination of Dink.

    The ruling comes only a few days after the Justice Ministry cleared
    the path for investigations into nine civil servants, including senior
    police officers occupying key posts at the time of the murder, such
    as the former Istanbul police chief Celalettin Cerrah. The officers
    had been accused of negligence and threatening Dink before his death.

    The Friends of Hrant Dink Association hailed the decision in a
    statement issued in front of the Istanbul courthouse Oct. 30, while
    demanding that the civil servants be charged with "murder."

    Dink's lawyers have long been demanded that the investigation should
    focus on the "real web of connections" that led to Dink's murder,
    while expressing few expectations from the retrial.

    The matter was even subject to a review by Turkey's Constitutional
    Court, which ruled that the case had not been efficiently investigated
    and the rights of Dink's family were violated.

    October/30/2014

    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/dink-murder-trial-takes-new-turn-as-court-to-focus-on-criminal-organization-claims-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=73684&NewsCatID=509

Working...
X