US ARMENIAN GROUP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO PRESENT AWARD TO DINK’S WIDOW
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 26 2007
A US Armenian group has announced that it will present an award to
Rakel Dink, widow of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was
slain in January.
The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) said in a statement dated
Sept. 24 that Rakel Dink will accept its Distinguished Humanitarian
Award on behalf of her late husband during the assembly’s 35th
anniversary gala, to be held Nov. 3 in Beverly Hills. Dink was shot
outside the office of his newspaper, Agos, in Ýstanbul on Jan. 19.
The teenager who shot him said he killed him because he had insulted
Turks. Before his death, Dink had faced charges of "insulting
Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) for
comments on an alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire. "We are honored that Rakel will join us as we pay
tribute to her husband Hrant — an exceptional human being and civil
rights advocate who will always be remembered for his strong leadership
and commitment to peaceful change," AAA Board of Trustees Chairman
Hirair Hovnanian said. The AAA’s Distinguished Humanitarian Award was
previously presented to human rights activist Kathryn Came-ron Porter.
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