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GENDARMERIE OFFICERS 'KNEW OF PLOT MONTHS BEFORE DINK KILLING'
Today's Zaman
June 20 2008
Turkey
Two gendarmerie officials accused of negligence of duty for failing
to act on warnings before the assassination of a journalist testified
in court yesterday that they were informed about the plot about six
months before the murder.
Hrant Dink, an Armenian-Turkish journalist, was shot dead in broad
daylight outside the office of his newspaper, Agos, in Ä°stanbul on
Jan. 19, 2007, by a nationalist teenager. The ensuing investigation
revealed that a group of ultra-nationalist youths were behind the
murder. Strong evidence suggested that some members of the group
had ties with the police department in Trabzon, the hometown of the
plotters. Some gendarmerie officers later confirmed that they had been
tipped off about the plot to kill Dink before the murder was committed.
"A noncommissioned gendarmerie officer, O.Å~^., told me in August 2006
that Yasin Hayal, who was allegedly involved in the Dink murder, had
plans to murder the Turkish-Armenian journalist. We wanted to share
this information with former commander of the Trabzon Gendarmerie
Command Col. Ali Oz, but he covered up the issue, saying he would
discuss it with us later," said one of the gendarmerie officers, H.Y.
Another gendarmerie officer, H.O.U., said he was informed by
O.Å~^. about the plot to murder Dink six months before the
assassination. "But I didn't have the chance to interfere
in the incident, because our unit just deals with terrorist
activities. However, Dink's murder is an incident related to public
peace," he added.
--Boundary_(ID_Ni6HHSSeM+7VZ9BSUyhsXA)--
Today's Zaman
June 20 2008
Turkey
Two gendarmerie officials accused of negligence of duty for failing
to act on warnings before the assassination of a journalist testified
in court yesterday that they were informed about the plot about six
months before the murder.
Hrant Dink, an Armenian-Turkish journalist, was shot dead in broad
daylight outside the office of his newspaper, Agos, in Ä°stanbul on
Jan. 19, 2007, by a nationalist teenager. The ensuing investigation
revealed that a group of ultra-nationalist youths were behind the
murder. Strong evidence suggested that some members of the group
had ties with the police department in Trabzon, the hometown of the
plotters. Some gendarmerie officers later confirmed that they had been
tipped off about the plot to kill Dink before the murder was committed.
"A noncommissioned gendarmerie officer, O.Å~^., told me in August 2006
that Yasin Hayal, who was allegedly involved in the Dink murder, had
plans to murder the Turkish-Armenian journalist. We wanted to share
this information with former commander of the Trabzon Gendarmerie
Command Col. Ali Oz, but he covered up the issue, saying he would
discuss it with us later," said one of the gendarmerie officers, H.Y.
Another gendarmerie officer, H.O.U., said he was informed by
O.Å~^. about the plot to murder Dink six months before the
assassination. "But I didn't have the chance to interfere
in the incident, because our unit just deals with terrorist
activities. However, Dink's murder is an incident related to public
peace," he added.
--Boundary_(ID_Ni6HHSSeM+7VZ9BSUyhsXA)--