INSTIGATOR OF DINK’S MURDER TO BE RETRIED FOR PREVIOUS CRIME

BIA
Sept 11 2008
Turkey

Supreme Court of Appeals 8th Penal Chamber finds Yasin Hayal’s sentence
in the trial of Trabzon McDonalds bombing case not sufficient. Hayal
will be retried.

Yasin Hayal, who is on trial for instigating the murder of Hrant
Dink and in prison at the moment, will be retried for the bombing of
McDonalds in Trabzon.

8th Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which had ratified
the three year and four month sentence given previously to Hayal for
"producing explosives," reversed its judgment since there were six
people who had been injured at the bombing executed on October 24,
2004, and decided for the reopening the case.

Hayal will be retried on September 23 The Supreme Court of Appeals
found the previous sentence inadequate and decided that Hayal should
be punished separately for each victim.

Hayal’s trial will start in Trabzon’s 1st High Criminal Court on
September 23.

Getting caught six days after the Trabzon attack, Hayal was sentenced
to six years and eight months for the crimes of "producing explosives",
"using explosives", and injuring six people. The accused was released
pending trial a year later in October 2005.

Hayal’s "early release" was discussed at the Dink case It was suggested
in Dink’s case that Hayal had been released early in exchange for
Erhan Tuncel’s acceptance to work as an informant for the Trabzon
Police Department. Tuncel is also on trial for instigating the murder
of Hrant Dink and is in prison like Hayal.

The next hearing in the trial of Hrant Dink’s murder will be in
Istanbul’s 14th High Criminal Court at BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ on October
13. Hrant Dink, chief editor and owner of Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos,
was killed on January 19, 2007.

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