LINK BETWEEN ERGENEKON, DINK MURDER SUSPECTS, POLICE SAY
Hurriyet
May 10 2010
Turkey
The defendants in the Hrant Dink murder trial had connections to
six suspects in the ongoing Ergenekon coup plot case, news agencies
reported Monday.
In a statement sent by Istanbul police for Monday’s hearing of the
Dink trial, authorities said infamous Ergenekon suspects Veli Kucuk,
Kemal Kerincsiz, Mustafa Levent GöktaÅ~_, Muzaffer Tekin and Erbay
Colakoglu spoke on the phone to the suspects in Dink’s murder. Dink
was a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin.
Kucuk and Kerincsiz were closely linked to a case in which Dink
was tried for insulting Turkishness in one of his articles; before
his death, the journalist said he had felt threatened by the pair’s
presence at the hearings.
Alleged members of the suspected Ergenekon gang are accused of plotting
to overthrow Turkey’s government by sowing chaos in society.
Dink’s friends ask for justice
Prior to the start of Monday’s 13th hearing at the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_
courthouse, friends of the murdered journalist gathered to issue
another demand for justice in the long-running case.
Dink was gunned down in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007, in front of
the offices of his bilingual daily, Agos.
Roughly 200 people gathered Monday in BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ and held posters
saying "For Hrant for Justice," in Turkish and Armenian. Dink’s wife,
Rakel Dink, and his brother, Hosrof Dink, were also present on Monday.
"This case has been taking place for three-and-a-half years now,
and we will be here as long as it takes," said Tulin Ozen, reading
a press statement on behalf of Dink’s friends.
"Those who protest the public officials involved in Dink’s murder,
should know that the number of people who ask for justice will increase
in this country," she said.
Ozen said the state could help serve justice by bringing to light the
damaged video recordings of security cameras around the crime scene.
"The Internet café the murderer entered turned out to be related to
a security company – they can investigate that," she said. "They can
investigate who encouraged the security forces in Samsun that took
pictures with the murderer smiling following the killing."
She also said a special prosecutor for the case should be nominated.
"The state officials said ‘this case is an honor case’ at the
beginning. We call them to protect their honor."
The families of others killed in political assassinations were also
present to support the Dink family and watch the trial. The families
included murdered journalist Ugur Mumcu’s son and daughter, Ozgur and
Ozge Mumcu, murdered Public Prosecutor Dogan Oz’s wife, Sezen Oz, as
well as murdered journalist Metin Göktepe’s mother, Fadime Göktepe.