GENDARMERIE COMMANDER RELIEVED OF DUTY OVER DINK MURDER ALLEGATIONS
Today’s Zaman
March 26 2008
Turkey
Bilecik Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Col. Ali Oz has been relieved
of duty in the wake of allegations that he had prior warning of a
plot to assassinate ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Two gendarmes, Sgt. Maj. Okan S. and Spc. Sgt. Veysel Þ., appeared
in a Trabzon court last Thursday on charges of dereliction of duty
by failing to take the necessary measures to prevent the murder of
Dink, who was gunned down outside the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos
in early 2007.
They confirmed the earlier testimony of a witness, Coþkun Ýðci —
the ex-husband of a relative of one of the prime suspects in the Dink
murder — that they had been clearly warned about a plan to murder
Dink. The two soldiers noted that they had informed their superior,
Oz, of the plot. They also testified that they had previously given
false statements during the course of the investigation after being
pressured to do so by Oz.
Following the testimonies by the two soldiers, a criminal complaint
was filed against Oz for abusing his authority and failing to take the
necessary actions to prevent the assassination of Dink. He was removed
from his position yesterday and sent to the Bursa Regional Command.
–Boundary_(ID_oY0mDybtkBVlakNKBaLRQw)–