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Hrant Dink: A Courageous Voice Silenced 1954-2007

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  • Hrant Dink: A Courageous Voice Silenced 1954-2007

    HRANT DINK: A COURAGEOUS VOICE SILENCED 1954-2007

    http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/01/18/ turkey17817.htm
    18 Jan 08

    One year ago, Hrant Dink, a courageous Turkish-Armenian newspaper
    editor, journalist, and human rights defender was silenced forever. He
    sought open debate, dialogue, and cooperation between all ethnic and
    religious communities in Turkey and across the political spectrum. On
    January 19, 2007, he was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul in
    an apparently politically and ethnically motivated killing.

    Dink was identified by his murderers as an Armenian who had been
    convicted in court for "insulting Turkishness." In the 18 months
    prior to his murder he had been the subject of three prosecutions
    for speech-related offenses. For an article in which he discussed
    Armenian identity, in July 2006 he received a six-month suspended
    sentence under Article 301, a provision of the Turkish penal code
    that criminalizes "publicly insulting Turkishness."

    Hrant Dink © 2006 Murat Turemis

    On the one-year anniversary of his death, the human rights community
    mourns the loss of a writer and activist deeply committed to
    democratization and human rights in Turkey.

    At 3 p.m. on January 19, 2008, a vigil organized by the friends of
    Hrant Dink will be held at the spot where he was killed, outside the
    offices of Agos ("ploughed furrow"), the bilingual Turkish-Armenian
    newspaper he founded and edited, and for which he wrote a column.

    Human Rights Watch has joined Turkish and international groups in
    demanding justice for Dink. A representative of Human Rights Watch will
    be present outside the courtroom on February 11 for the third hearing
    of the trial of 19 defendants in the Dink murder. They include the
    then 17-year-old gunman and leaders of a gang that allegedly appointed
    him to carry out the killing.

    Human Rights Watch continues to urge the Turkish government to conduct
    an independent, thorough and transparent investigation into concerns
    that members of the security forces failed to act on reported threats
    to kill Dink and allegedly obstructed justice during the investigation.

    --Boundary_(ID_PanPOi411PrKuuqSBms NyA)--
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