TURKISH COURT RESUMES TRIAL IN SLAIN ARMENIAN JOURNALIST CASE

WHDH-TV, MA
Oct 1 2007

ISTANBUL, Turkey — A Turkish court on Monday resumed the trial of
suspects in the killing of an ethnic Armenian journalist — a case
widely seen as a test of whether the judiciary can fully investigate
possible negligence by authorities.

Hrant Dink was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his Istanbul
newspaper office in January. On Saturday, Turkish media aired a
recording of a telephone conversation between one of the suspects
and a police officer. The dialogue, though vague, suggests the police
officer knew about plots to kill the journalist.

Dink was hated by hardline nationalists and prosecuted under Turkish
law for describing the mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th
century as genocide. Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide,
insisting those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Dink’s killing led to international condemnation and debate within
Turkey about free speech. Turkey’s top politicians, including the
prime minister, have vowed a thorough investigation.

The trial is taking place behind closed doors because the alleged
gunman, Ogun Samast, is a minor. A total of 19 suspects are on trial.

At the end of the first hearing of the case held in July, judges
decided to broaden the investigation to see if claims of negligence
by police are true, a lawyer for Dink family, Bahri Belen said.

Monday’s trial was the second hearing in the case.

The taped recording was aired on private NTV television and other
channels on Saturday.

NTV said the conversation took place shortly after Dink was killed
and suggests that authorities may have been able to pre-empt the
killing. The transcript was placed in the court files, said a lawyer
following the case who requested anonymity because of the issue’s
sensitivity.

The Interior Ministry launched an investigation into who leaked the
tape to the public, state-run media said Saturday.

Many Turks are convinced that a so-called "deep state" — a network
of state agents or ex-officials, possibly with links to organized
crime — periodically targets reformists and other perceived enemies
in the name of nationalism.

Dink had sought to encourage reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia.

But he was prosecuted under Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code, which
bans insults to Turkish identity, for his comments about the killings
of Armenians. Dink was convicted last year. Other writers, including
Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, have also been prosecuted under this law.