DINK MURDER TRIAL RESUMES AMID CALLS FOR FULL JUSTICE

Today’s Zaman
Feb 12 2008
Turkey

A court in Ýstanbul held the third hearing in a closely watched
case in the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
amid calls for a fair trial and a state move to shed full light on
the assassination.

In partial response to the calls for a fair trial, the hearing was
recorded — a first in Turkish judicial history. Concerned about a
possible cover-up, the lawyers for Dink’s family requested audiovisual
recording after the trial’s second hearing, a demand later accepted by
the court. Several allegations of police and gendarmerie cover-ups have
marred the trial process and raised questions over state authorities’
commitment to uncovering the full story behind the murder.

"This stain must be cleansed to create a Turkey in which people are not
prosecuted and convicted for their thoughts," a statement undersigned
by intellectuals calling themselves the Hrant Dink Sensitivity Group,
said as the trial went on. "We believe it is a moral duty for all
individuals and institutions concerned to take steps to ensure that
the case in question will be brought to full light," the statement
also said, calling for a fair trial and for political efforts toward
finding whoever is behind the murder.

The signatories included intellectuals and human rights activists from
across the political spectrum, including Etyen Mahcupyan, Akýn Birdal,
Ufuk Uras, Cengiz Candar, Adalet Aðaoðlu and Kurþat Bumin.

Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary
Commission, who was also present at the hearing, said the forces
behind the assassination of Dink should be exposed.

Dink was murdered in January of last year by an ultranationalist
youth for allegedly insulting Turkishness.

"I’m here to see if justice has been served," Lagendijk said at the
14th High Criminal Court in Ýstanbul, pointing out that not only the
defendants in the Dink trial, but also everyone behind the murder
should be brought to justice. If not, Lagendijk said, the Turkish
justice system would receive a severe blow in the international arena.

Linking Dink’s murder to the recent Ergenekon operation, in which
several people have been arrested in connection with the Turkish
"deep state," Lagendijk expressed his hope for similar revelations
in Dink’s murder. "We desire a change in Article 301 [of the Turkish
Penal Code (TCK)], not statements about it being changed," he said.

At the trial, the defendants’ lawyers demanded that Turkish deputies
and members of the European Parliament be removed from the hearing,
but their motion was denied.

Speaking to journalists during a break, Republican People’s Party
(CHP) deputy Sahin Mengu said they had formed an investigative
commission related to the Dink trial and that they will closely
observe the proceedings.

A total of 18 suspects, including Dink’s suspected killer, 17-year-old
O.S., and an ultranationalist youth charged with planning the crime,
went on trial for organizing the murder. The suspect was arrested the
day after the murder and reportedly confessed to the killing. A wider
investigation revealed a group of ultranationalist "older brothers"
who allegedly guided and instigated him to commit the crime.

It was later learned that one "elder brother," Erhan Tuncel, used
to be a police informant and that he had told the police that there
was a plan to kill Dink after the journalist was found guilty of
insulting Turkishness under Article 301 and received a six-month
suspended sentence. Tuncel and Yasin Hayal are accused of being the
instigators behind the murder.

Tuncel demanded the removal of Dink’s lawyers, who are participating
as co-plaintiffs, from the hearing on the grounds that they would
talk to the press during the trial and said he would not reply to
their questions.

Tuncel criticized Dink’s wife, Rakel Dink, because she addressed
the defendants as "children." Tuncel reportedly said of Rakel Dink,
"She acts as if she is a saint."

Meanwhile, the judges gave a warning to Hayal because of his
disrespectful behavior toward the Dink family at the trial.

Coþkun Ýðci, who had been a witness in a case in which two soldiers
were tried in Trabzon on charges of dereliction of duty and had said
that Hayal had told gendarmerie officials that he was planning to
kill Dink in front of the Agos newspaper, is to be interrogated by
the court under an additional indictment.

Police officers set up barriers around the courthouse, checked ID
cards and conducted body searches. Tight security restrictions were in
place. No civilian cars were allowed in the car park of the courthouse.

Due to the audiovisual recording, there was no court clerk present
during the hearing and minutes of the trial will be transcribed
following the hearing and placed into the case file after being
approved by the judge and the prosecutor.

There was a monitor placed on the wall facing the judges’ seats
and microphones hung down over the defendants’ section. There were
table microphones for the judges, lawyers and the prosecutor and
two loudspeakers.

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