TURKEY: TEENAGER ADMITS KILLING JOURNALIST
By Sebnem Arsu
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
October 2, 2007 Tuesday
A 17-year-old accused in the shooting death in January of Hrant Dink,
a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist, admitted killing him at his
trial in Ankara but expressed remorse and said he had been under
the influence of the drug Ecstasy. The defendant, Ogun Samast, an
unemployed high school dropout, also said he had been coerced by one
of his co-defendants. He ended his testimony saying that he would
not have killed Mr. Dink if he had known that the journalist had a
family. Mr. Dink’s widow, daughter and brother were in the courtroom.
A total of 18 suspects are on trial for the killing. The judge
scheduled the next hearing for Feb. 11.