TODAY THIRD HEARING IN DINK MURDER CASE
Erolonderoglu

BIA
Feb 11 2008
Turkey

The trial of the murder suspects of journalist Hrant Dink continues
with the third hearing today. The hearing will be recorded and might
yet be opened to the press, pending a court decision.

Today (11 February) is the third hearing of the trial related to
journalist Hrant Dink’s murder. The trial takes place at the Istanbul
14th Heavy Penal Court in Besiktas, central Istanbul.

The editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos
was shot dead on 19 January 2007.

Court case monitored by Hrant Dink’s friends and supporters

A group called the "Hrant Dink Awareness Group", made up of MPs,
writers, journalists and others, has vowed to follow the case to
ensure that justice is done.

In a published statement, the group said, "We will continue this
effort until justice is done, until our conscience is clear." The
group will make a press statement in front of the Besiktas court
building at 10 am.

Trial may be opened to press The trial has been closed to the press
because the gunman suspect O.S. was said to be under age. However,
should the court pay heed to a forensic medical report which, based
on bone measurements, sets his age at 19, the trial may be opened to
the press.

If the court accepted a higher age, this would also affect the
suspect’s trial – the prosecution would then demand a life sentence
with more severe restrictions.

Hearing to be recorded For the third hearing, it is expected that
visual and audio recording technology has been prepared. The joint
attorneys had cited reforms in Criminal Procedure Law and demanded
the recording of the hearing.

This request had been granted and thus, this would be the first time
in Turkey that a hearing is recorded.

Justice needs to be pursued Fethiye Cetin, a lawyer for the Dink family
has expressed her appreciation of the public support in the trial:

"The voices who are pursuing the case and standing witness in the
case have also caused some developments to come to light. This pursuit
gives us hope. We must continue to pursue justice."

This hearing may also hear the account of Coskun Igci, brother-in-law
of murder suspect Yasin Hayal and gendarmerie informant, who stated
in the Trabzon court case against two gendarmerie officers for gross
negligence that he told the gendarmerie in Trabzon four months before
the murder that Hayal was planning such an attack.

The Hrant Dink murder trial in Istanbul began on 2 July 2007,
with the second hearing on 1 October. O.S., the young man on trial
for shooting Dink, said at the second hearing: "Yasin Hayal forced
me to do this. Out of fear, I did not understand how it happened,
I shot Hrant Dink. I regret it. If I had known that he had family,
I would not have shot him."

No prosecution of police officer Zenit The Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal
Court has decided not to open a separate investigation into police
intelligence officer Muhittin Zenit, who spoke to suspect Erhan Tuncel
hours after the murder of Hrant Dink. Zenit had displayed knowledge of
the planned murder in expressions such as "[the gunman] was not going
to run away, but he did." Tuncel said to Zenit in the conversation,
"It was clear how he was going to be shot."

It is expected that seven of the eight detained suspects in the
case, O.S. ,Erhan Tuncel, Yasin Hayal, Zeynel Abidin Yavuz, Ahmet
Iskender, Tuncay Uzundal and Mustafa Ozturk, will be questioned at
this hearing.