THREE YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR THREATENING AGOS NEWSPAPER
Erol ON
BÝA
March 21 2008
Turkey
After threatening Agos and Armenians pere mail, Zafer Filiz has been
sentenced to three years imprisonment. Lawyer Cetin has welcomed
the sentence.
The editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos newspaper,
Hrant Dink, was murdered on 19 January 2007. Twelve days later, Zafer
Filiz sent racist and threatening messages to the Agos newspaper. The
newspaper then filed a complaint with the prosecution.
3 years imprisonment
On 20 March the Sisli Penal Court in Istanbul sentenced Filiz to
three years imprisonment, two years for threatening, and one year
for insulting. The punishment was not deferred.
Filiz had sworn at Armenians and said, "Remember, we have more Catlis
and Samasts," referring to Abdullah Catli, a famous mafia leader,
and Ogun Samast, the young man accused of shooting Hrant Dink.
Sentence welcomed by newspaper’s lawyer Fethiye Cetin, lawyer for
the Agos newspaper, told bianet that "we find the punishment for the
sentences targeting Armenians to have received a sentence without
reduction or deferment."
She also found it positive that the court decree emphasised that the
accused used the frightening power created by an existing criminal
organisation.
2nd case in same court The same court had sentenced 19-year-old Ridvan
Dogan to a deferred two years imprisonment in October 2007 because
he had sent a threatening email to Agos. The sentence was deferred
because he expressed regret and had no previous convictions.
In January 2008, the International Hrant Dink Foundation was sent
email messages containing death threats.
Lawyer Cetin filed a criminal complaint with the Sisli Prosecution in
Istanbul on 22 January, demanding the identification and punishment
of the person(s) who had sent the messages.
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