Turkish court agrees to broaden investigation into killing of ethnic
Armenian journalist
AP Worldstream
Published: Jul 03, 2007
A Turkish court has decided to broaden the investigation into the
killing of an ethnic Armenian journalist to consider allegations of
official negligence in the slaying, a lawyer said early Tuesday.
After a 12-hour hearing on Monday, the court released four of the 18
suspects implicated in the killing of Hrant Dink, who was gunned down
on Jan. 19, until the resumption of the trial on Oct. 1.
The killing led to international condemnation and debate within Turkey
about free speech. Dink was hated by hardline nationalists for
describing the mass killings of Armenians early in the last century as
genocide.
The trial is taking place behind closed doors because the alleged
gunman, Ogun Samast, is a minor.
Lawyer Bahri Belen, representing Dink’s family, told reporters early
Tuesday that the court agreed to broaden the investigation.
Two of the key suspects, Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, claimed they
worked for the security forces. The alleged gunman had remained silent
during the trial.
Tuncel, who is suspected of masterminding the killing, reportedly told
the court that he was paid by police for gathering intelligence,
according to a lawyer who attended Monday’s hearing.
The court decided to ask police to provide a list of Tuncel’s telephone
calls.
Critics have accused authorities of failing to act on reports of a plot
to kill Dink, and it is unclear whether allegations that could
potentially be embarrassing for top officials will be explored in the
trial.
Hayal’s lawyer Fuat Turgut said that his client and the gunman were
"manipulated by certain forces because of their patriotic feelings."
Turkey had vowed a thorough investigation, and the governor and police
chief of the Black Sea city of Trabzon, the hometown of Samast, were
removed from office because of negligence. Some security officials who
posed for photographs with the gunman as he held a Turkish flag were
also dismissed.
There has been no evidence that directly implicates any police or
government official in the slaying of Dink outside his office, however.
Many Turks are convinced that a so-called "deep state" _ a network of
state agents or ex-officials, possibly with links to organized crime _
periodically targets reformists and other perceived enemies in the name
of nationalism.
Dink sought to encourage reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia. But
he was prosecuted under Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code, which bans
insults to Turkish identity, for his comments on the mass killings of
Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
