TWO YEARS ON, HRANT DINK MURDER REMAINS UNSOLVED

Today’s Zaman
Jan 20 2009
Turkey

Yesterday was the second anniversary of the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot outside
his office by an ultranationalist teenager.

Though two years have passed since Dink was killed, the investigation
into this vicious murder has yielded almost no concrete results.

A series of ceremonies were held across Turkey to mark the second
anniversary of the death of Dink, who was gunned down on Jan. 19,
2007 in broad daylight in front of the headquarters of the bilingual
Armenian weekly Agos, where he was editor-in-chief. Police arrested
the suspected gunman, Ogun Samast, and an associate, Yasin Hayal,
a few days later. There are a total of 20 suspects in the case,
eight of whom are currently under arrest. Following Dink’s murder,
numerous reports suggested that the police had been tipped off about
the planned assassination more than once before his murder but had
failed to prevent it.

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the headquarters of Agos
yesterday to commemorate Dink on the second anniversary of his
murder. Carrying banners that denounced the vicious attack against
Dink in a number of languages including Turkish, English, Armenian
and Kurdish, protestors shouted "For Hrant, for justice" and "We are
all Hrant, we are all Armenians." Protestors also placed carnations
in front of the building in memory of the slain journalist.

In an attempt to protest the Dink investigation, which has yielded
almost no concrete answers, a group of demonstrators lay motionless
on the ground for one minute.

Several rights organizations and activists expressed their
frustration that the investigation into the murder seems to have
reached an impasse, yielding almost no concrete results since Dink’s
assassination.

"We believe there is an organized campaign to delay the dissipation
of the shroud of mist surrounding the Dink murder. His assassination
is certainly not the work of only 20 suspects. The police should
investigate very carefully how the assassination plan was devised,
how Dink was targeted and how the murder was carried out. Officials
at the Ä°stanbul and Trabzon police departments with suspected links
to the murder should be called to account.

We, as the friends of Hrant, will continue to raise our voices until
the case into his murder is concluded," stated Ozlem Dalkıran of
the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly.

An investigation in the wake of the Dink assassination revealed that
a group of ultranationalists was behind the murder. Strong evidence
suggested that some members of the group had ties with the police
department in northern Trabzon, the hometown of the plotters. Some
gendarmes later confirmed that they had been tipped off about the plot
to kill Dink before the murder was committed. Dink family lawyers
have frequently leveled allegations that police have attempted to
obscure evidence. Two gendarmes are currently standing trial for
having ignored warnings about the plot to kill Dink.

Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay stated yesterday that clues
uncovered in the aftermath of Dink’s death made one think that the
assassination plot was not devised by a single individual but that it
was part of a series of traps aimed to hurt Turkey and its democracy.

Ä°smet Berkan of the Radikal daily wrote in his column yesterday that
the real reason behind the killing of the Turkish-Armenian journalist
was a gradually increasing level of racism in society.

"Dink was killed because he was an Armenian; he was killed because
he was a man who spoke out a great deal even though he belonged to a
minority group. The main problem is, because people are not sensitive
to racism in Turkey and most of us are not criticized for our racist
actions, we fail to realize whom we hurt or frighten with our words
or writing. When those who plotted Dink’s assassination were looking
for a youth to carry out the murder, they said the youth would kill
an Armenian, not a human being. You see my point, don’t you? Even if
we are not conscious of it, racism is our biggest problem," he stated.

Star’s Mehmet Altan noted that a chain of negligence led to Dink’s
murder. "When was Dink killed first? The moment when CoÅ~_kun Ä°gci
informed Gendarmerie Intelligence Director Capt. Metin Yıldız about
the assassination plans against Dink? Or when the warning fell on
the deaf ears of Col. Ali Oz?" he asked.

Ä°gci, the uncle of Hayal, one of the prime suspects in the case,
testified last year in court that he had repeatedly informed gendarmes
of a plot to assassinate the journalist at least five months before the
incident. Gendarmes Okan Å~^imÅ~_ek and Veysel Å~^ahin also testified
that they knew about the plot to kill Dink six months before the
murder took place and recounted that they had informed the gendarmerie
intelligence director, who, in turn, informed Col. Oz. The two officers
testified that Oz did nothing upon receiving the information.

Oz gave his testimony last July and denied their claims, saying "I
don’t remember" when asked about intelligence information related
to Dink’s murder and "I don’t know them" when asked about the two
gendarmes who said they had informed him about the murder.

According to lawyer Fethiye Cetin, who represents the Dink family in
the trial, the investigation has yielded more evidence linking the
masterminds of the murder plot to police departments in Ä°stanbul,
in Trabzon, the hometown of most of the suspects and the place where
the assassination was planned, and in Ankara, where the police had
intelligence about the murder.

The Sabah daily published an interview earlier this week with Cetin,
who complained that crucial evidence in the Dink assassination was
obscured soon after the murder. She said footage recorded by security
cameras of shops and banks located close to the crime scene during the
time of the murder was mysteriously lost. "Officials with suspected
links to the murder are still serving. As long as they continue in
their positions, we will either not have access to evidence in the
Dink murder, or this evidence will be distorted," she said.

Cetin also said the Dink assassination plot was very detailed
and well planned. "Dink was killed after an incredible process of
preparation. Step by step, he was carefully targeted," she noted. She
also expressed hope that all the questions surrounding the death of
Dink would be answered sooner or later.

Timeline of investigation into Dink assassination Jan. 17, 2007:
Dink is fatally shot around 3 p.m. in front of the headquarters of
the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos as he was leaving the building. He
was pronounced dead at the scene of crime.

Jan. 20, 2007: Suspected gunman Samast nabbed by police at the Samsun
bus terminal.

Jan. 21, 2007: Hayal, who aided Samast in the assassination, is
captured in Trabzon.

Feb. 6, 2007: Plans to shoot Dink dead, reported to police by defendant
Erhan Tuncel, are revealed.

Feb. 22, 2007: The Interior Ministry launches an investigation into
officials at the Trabzon Police Department for dereliction of duty
in the Dink case.

July 2, 2007: The Dink trial begins.

Jan. 3, 2008: A forensic medicine report indicates that a bone analysis
test showed Samast to be 19 years old.

Dec. 29, 2008: A prosecutor files charges against former Trabzon
Gendarmerie Commander Col. Oz and five other officers, seeking up to
two years’ imprisonment.

Jan. 5, 2009: The Trabzon 2nd Magistrates Court rejects the indictment
against Col. Oz and five other gendarmerie officers, saying it is not
in its jurisdiction and that the case should be handled by a court
of first instance. The prosecutor appealed the decision.

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