SECRET WITNESS OF DINK MURDER STILL NOT HEARD
BIA Net
Feb 8 2010
Turkey
The secret witness of the murder of Hrant Dink did not appear at court
because of a ‘misunderstanding of the referring directive’. Lawyer
Belen drew attention to that fact that important evidence is kept
confidential because it is accounted for as a "state secret".
Erol ONDEROLU [email protected] Istanbul – BIA News Center08 February
2010, Monday RELATED NEWS CLAIM FOR JUSTICE: Families of Murdered
Intellectuals Follow up Dink Murder Case The 12th hearing of the murder
case of Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights defender Hrant
Dink was held on Monday (8 February) at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal
Court. 15 out of a total of 20 defendants attended the morning session,
among them five detained defendants. Five un-detained defendants did
not appear at court.
The secret witness who was present at the scene of crime at the
time of the murder was not heard by the court once again. The judge
informed the audience that he had given a written directive to the
police to bring the secret witness in for the hearing. However, it
was said that the police expected additional verbal instructions and
another directive by the prosecution. So, the statement of the secret
witness was postponed once more to the following hearing.
Three defendants altered their previous statements Witnesses Turan
Meral, Orhan OzbaÅ~_ and Kaan Gercek had stated in previous police
statements that murderer suspect Ogun Samast had shown them his weapon
when they were together with him in a car after Samast had arrived in
Istanbul. All three witnesses recalled that Samast had told them that
he was going to shoot somebody. Nevertheless, in yesterday’s hearing
Meral, OzbaÅ~_ and Gercek all claimed that they did not remember
and that they did not know anything. Joint attorney Bahri Bayram
Belen requested to take all three of them into detention because of
false testimony.
"A proof cannot be a ‘state secret’" President Judge Erkan Canak
read a document issued by security institutions upon request in the
morning session. The writing was concerned with the registered phone
numbers of Ramazan Akyurek’s intelligence staff to be presented to the
court. Saying that such information would endanger the intelligence
employees’ lives it was considered as a state secret and thus a
response could not be given to the court. Lawyer Belen said that the
document was unacceptable.
"A proof related to a crime cannot be kept confidential. It cannot
be considered as a state secret. This response should not be taken
into account".
Propaganda for Great Union Party After police informant Erhan Tuncel,
standing trial as the alleged instigator of the murder, requested to
speak, he addressed un-detained defendants YaÅ~_ar Cihan, former
Great Union Party (BBP) Provincial Chairman of Trabzon, and BBP
member Halis Egemen with the question, "Do you approve of this
murder?". President Judge Canak did not intervene against Tuncel’s
directing of the hearing.
Defendant Cihan answered, "It is impossible to approve of this murder.
We suffered a lot in the past". Defendant Egemen, whom Tuncel called
by the address of a close friend, replied with phrases from BBP
propaganda: "As BBP we are against actions aimed at human life. Human
life should be cherished so that the state can prosper. We like the
creation because of its creator".
Among the audience of the hearing were writer Adalet Agaoglu, the
children of murdered journalists Ugur Mumcu and Abdi Ä°pekci Ozgur
Mumcu and Nukhet Ä°pekci, the mother of killed journalist Metin
Göktepe Meryem Göktepe, Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) Chairman
Alper TaÅ~_, lawyers Turgut Kazan, Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Taylan Tanay,
Prof. Dr.
Ä°brahim Kaboglu, MP Ufuk Uras, Elsa Vidal from the European Desk of
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Paris Bar Association Board Member
Vincen Nioré, Paris Bar Association Armenian Lawyers and Jurists
Association (AFAJA) Vice President Alexandre Aslanian, Paris Bar
Association Youth Confederation member Kee-Yoon Kim, Brussels Bar
Association representative Melinee Nazarian, the family of journalist
Cihan Hayırsevener who was killed in Bandırma on 18 December 2009,
Sema Kılıcer from the Turkey Representation of the European Union
(EU) Commission, EU Commission’s Vice President of the Turkey Desk
Christos Makridis and Ali Yurttagul from the Greens Group of the
European Parliament. (TK/VK)