REPORT: STATE OFFICIALS LISTENED TO DINK’S WIDOW IN KEY VISIT

Today’s Zaman Turkey
May 11 2011

Officials from the State Audit Institution (DDK) who have been
investigating the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink paid a visit to Dink’s widow, Rakel Dink, two weeks ago upon
President Abdullah Gul’s request and noted down her demands with
regard to the probe, the Milliyet daily reported on Wednesday.

Dink, the late editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot dead by an
ultranationalist teenager outside the offices of his newspaper in
broad daylight in Ä°stanbul on Jan. 19, 2007. The investigation into
his murder stalled when the suspected perpetrator and his accomplices
were put on trial, but those who masterminded the plot to kill him
have yet to be exposed and punished. In the face of growing calls
from the public and a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling
which had found Turkey guilty of failing to protect Dink’s right to
life and of failing to carry out a thorough investigation into the
officers who failed to take the necessary measures in light of early
warnings and tips about the plot to kill Dink, Gul ordered the DDK
to investigate the Dink murder earlier this year.

Milliyet said the DDK officials have so far listened to many
individuals who may contribute to shedding light on the murder and
that one of the most critical DDK meetings took place with Rakel
Dink two weeks ago. During the meeting, which was also attended by
the Dink family’s lawyers, Rakel Dink and the lawyers once again
expressed frustration over the state’s failure to protect Hrant Dink.

The investigation that followed Dink’s death revealed that the police
had been tipped off to plans to murder the journalist. Nineteen
suspects are currently facing trial in the murder case. A majority
of the suspects, including the hitman, are from Trabzon, where the
police say they had informed the Ä°stanbul police about the plot to
kill Dink on more than one occasion.

In addition to having ignored the tip-off about the plot, lawyers
representing the plaintiff are accusing the police of destroying
crucial evidence to protect some of the suspects, among whom is an
ex-police informant.

According to Milliyet, President Gul is closely following the DDK’s
investigation and is briefed about every stage in the probe by DDK
President Cemal Boyalı. He was also informed about the details of
the meeting with Rakel Dink.