BosNewsLife, Hungary –
July 4 2007
Turkey Pressured To Guarantee Fair Trial In Killing Of Armenian
Journalist
Wednesday, 04 July 2007 (24 hours ago)
By BosNewsLife News Center
TURKEY (BosNewsLife)– Fourteen suspects allegedly involved in the
killing of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink this year remained
behind bars Wednesday, July 4, amid international pressure on Turkish
authorities to investigate the case.
In a statement to BosNewsLife, human rights group Amnesty
International said it has called the court in Istanbul to ensure that
"all the evidence and circumstances be considered."
However after a 12-hour hearing on Monday, July 2, the court already
released four of the 18 suspects implicated in the killing of Hrant
Dink, who was gunned down on January 19, until the resumption of the
trial on October 1.
His killing came after Dink, 53, angered Turkish nationalists by
using the term "genocide" to describe the killings of up to 1.5
million Armenian as well as Assyrian and Hellenic Christians carried
out by Turkish Ottoman forces in the 1915-1917 period.
GOVERNMENT DENIAL
Turkey’s government has denied the figure or the involvement of
Turkish forces in mass killings and rejects the term "genocide,"
saying no more than 300,000 Armenians perished at the time, mostly
from hunger and disease.
The trial is taking place behind closed doors because the alleged
gunman, Ogun Samast, is a minor. Lawyer Bahri Belen, representing
Dink’s family, told reporters that the court agreed to broaden the
investigation.
In published statements two of the key suspects, Yasin Hayal and
Erhan Tuncel, claimed they worked for the security forces. The
alleged gunman has remained silent during the trial, according to
observers.
Amnesty International said it was concerned about developments in the
case. "The Turkish authorities must ensure that, in examining the
case, no stone is left unturned. All those involved in the killing of
Hrant Dink — those actively involved in planning and carrying out
the fatal attack and those who failed to prevent it — must be
brought to justice," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s
researcher on Turkey.
INREASING PATTERN
"Hrant Dink’s killing took place in the context of an increasing
pattern of deadly intolerance of freedom of expression." The trial
began amid reports of renewed pressure on minority Christians in this
mainly Muslim nation.
Two Turkish Christians have reportedly been accused of `insulting
Turkish identity’ under the nation’s notorious Article 301, the same
charge used in 2005 by a Turkish court to sentence Dink to six months
imprisonment.
Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, both former Muslims, were summoned to
Istanbul’s Beyoglu police headquarters on Sunday morning, July 1,
just before church services began at the Taksim Protestant Church,
where Tastan is a member, news reports said.
An administrative district authority in Istanbul reportedly ordered
the converts from Islam to pay a fine for `illegal collection of
funds’ after they allegedly collected money without permission from
local authorities.
In a statement released by Christian news agency Compass Direct News,
the men’s attorney, Haydar Polat described the charges as
"ridiculous." He said the case had "nothing whatever to do with the
original case" against his clients. (With reporting from Turkey and
BosNewsLife Research).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
