FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 19, 2007
2:54 PM
CONTACT: _Amnesty International_ ()

Turkey: Turkish-Armenian Journalist Murdered

LONDON – January 19 – Amnesty International deplores the murder today
of the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The
organization believes that he was targeted because of his work as a
journalist who championed freedom of expression.

Hrant Dink, editor of the newspaper Agos and contributor to the
influential daily Zaman, was reportedly shot three times today in
Istanbul outside the Agos offices. Hrant Dink, 53, was a passionate
promoter of the universality of human rights who appeared on different
platforms with human rights activists, journalists and intellectuals
across the political spectrum. Best known for his willingness to
debate openly and critically issues of Armenian identity and official
versions of history in Turkey relating to the massacres of Armenians
in 1915, Hrant Dink also wrote widely on issues of democratization and
human rights.

"In Turkey there are still a number of harsh laws which endorse the
suppression of freedom of speech. These laws, coupled with the
persisting official statements by senior government, state and
military officials condemning critical debate and dissenting opinion,
create an atmosphere in which violent attacks can take place," said
Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at
Amnesty International.

Last year, Hrant Dink was prosecuted for the third time on charges of
=80=9C denigrating Turkishness’ under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code. Amnesty International called for the repeal of that law and
condemned his prosecution as part of a pattern of judicial harassment
against him for peacefully expressing his dissenting opinion. Hrant
Dink had already been given a six-month suspended prison sentence in
July 2006 following an October 2005 conviction on charges of
`denigrating Turkishness’.

Amnesty International calls on the Turkish authorities to condemn all
forms of intolerance, to uphold the rights of all citizens of the
Turkish Republic and to investigate the murder of Hrant Dink
thoroughly and impartially, to make the findings of the investigation
public and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice in accordance
with international fair trial standards.

For further information about Amnesty International’s concerns
regarding Article 301 please see Turkey: Article 301: How the law on
`denigrating Turkishness’ is an insult to free expression (AI Index:
EUR 44/003/2006).

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