Journalist shot dead in Istanbul

CNN
January 19, 2007

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) — A prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist
who spoke out against the killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire
early last century was shot to death Friday, according to CNN Turk.

Hrant Dink, 53, editor of the Armenian-Turkish language weekly Agos
newspaper, was shot dead in front of the Istanbul publication as he
was leaving.

Authorities are looking into a lead that he was shot four times by
a young man who appeared to be 18 or 19 years old.

Described as a "well-known commentator on Armenian affairs," Dink has
faced a number of cases in connection with "insulting" the Turkish
state for his writings.

"Some of the trial hearings have been marred by violent scenes
inside and outside the courtrooms, instigated by nationalist activists
calling for Dink to be punished," said a profile on the Web site of Pen
American Center — the writers’ group that promotes free expression.

Agos, an Armenian-Turkish language weekly, was established in 1996.

Pen’s profile said that in 2005, Dink "had been charged for an article
published in Agos in which he discussed the impact on present day
Armenian diaspora of the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
by the Ottoman army in 1915-17."

This is a hot-button issue in the region, Pen notes.

Armenians and other countries regard the killings of Armenians in
the early 20th century as a a genocide, a claim rejected by the
Turkish government, which says Armenians and Turks were killed in
civil warfare.

Dink was one of the most prominent voices of Turkey’s shrinking
Armenian community.

A Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, he had received threats from
nationalists, who viewed him as a traitor.

In an earlier interview with The Associated Press, Dink had cried
as he talked about some of his fellow countrymen’s hatred for him,
saying he could not stay in a country where he was unwanted.

Private NTV television said police were searching for the suspected
murderer, believed to be a teenager wearing a white hat and a denim
jacket, but the identity and motivation of the shooter were unknown,
AP reported.

Dink’s body could be seen covered with a white sheet in front of the
newspaper’s entrance. NTV said four empty shell casings were found
on the ground and that he was killed by two bullets to the head.

Fehmi Koru, a columnist at the Yeni Safak newspaper, said the murder
was aimed at destabilizing Turkey.

"His loss is the loss of Turkey," Koru said.

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contributed to this report.