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HRANT DINK'S 'DEEP FAMILY' ATTENDS CASE HEARING
Today's Zaman
Feb 9 2010
Turkey
A group who gathered at the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ port protested against all
political murders with slogans such as "We Know the Murderers" and
"For Hrant, For Justice."
The "deep family" of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was
fatally shot by an ultranationalist teenager outside the Agos weekly in
2007, was present yesterday during the 12th hearing of the Dink trial.
"We are the 'deep' family of Hrant Dink," said Filiz Ali, daughter
of the great Turkish poet Sebahattin Ali, who was murdered in 1948
while trying to flee the country after serving time in prison for
insulting Ataturk. "Hrant's friends gave us permission today. We will
speak instead of them," she continued.
Family members of other victims of political murders have signed
a statement in support of the Dink family, including relatives of
journalists Ugur Mumcu, Cetin Emec, Metin Göktepe and Abdi İpekci;
prosecutor Dogan Oz; Kurdish writers Umit Kaftancıoglu, Turan Dursun,
Onat Kutlar and Musa Anter; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers'
Unions (DÄ°SK) President Kemal Turkler; folk singer Hasret Gultekin;
poets Behcet Aysan, Nesimi Cimen and Metin Altıok; terror victims
Yasemin Cebenoyan and Sevinc Ozguner; publisher Ä°lhan Erdost;
academic Cavit Orhan Tutengil; and Adana Police Chief Cevat Yurdakul.
'We came to share and bear witness to the injustice we have been
enduring for many years. We came to remind people how organized
political murders are covered up,' said supporters of Dink whose
relatives fell victim to shady political murders in the past
"We came to share and bear witness to the injustice we have been
enduring for many years. We came to remind people how organized
political murders are covered up, which we have held in our memory
since the murder of Sabahattin Ali," Filiz Ali said. By calling
themselves the "deep family," the Dink family's supporters are
referencing the "deep state," which is believed to have played a role
in Dink's murder.
The relatives of the victims demanded that no secrets should remain,
saying: "We came here to say that we are following you. We do not
believe that any secret can be so important as to carry the burden of
this dishonor, this humiliation. We came here to express our hope
that this court, which will start the hearing in a few minutes,
is powerful enough to bring out all the secrets."
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Ä°stanbul deputy Ufuk Uras, Ä°pekci's
daughter Nukhet Ä°pekci, Oz's wife Sezen Oz and writer Adalet Agaoglu
were also present to support the Dink family in addition to observers
from bar associations from Brussels and Paris.
In addition, the Demokratik Yargı Dernegi (Democratic Judiciary
Union), which was found as an alternative to the highly politicized
Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), released a press
statement, calling for light to be shed on political murders like
Dink's and others. They stated that political murders stand before
the democratic development of Turkey.
Ozgur Mumcu (L), the son of slain journalist Ugur Mumcu; Rakel Dink
(2nd from L), the widow of journalist Hrant Dink; Sezen Oz (2nd
from R), the widow of prosecutor Dogan Oz; and Nukhet Ä°pekci (R),
the daughter of the late journalist Abdi Ä°pekci, attended the 12th
hearing of the Dink trial on Monday.
Security was tight near the courthouse in BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ because of the
high number of people who came out in support of the Dink family. A
group of people who gathered at the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ pier protested against
all political murders with slogans such as, "For Hrant, For Justice"
and "Murderer State Will Be Held Accountable."
Dink's wife, Rakel, told reporters outside the courthouse that
there will be no salvation unless there is "admission, repentance
and apology."
When reminded that according to an interview with the Zaman daily,
Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu is considering naming a school in
Turkey after Hrant Dink, she said, "Let's see."
Next to Rakel Dink was Sezen Oz. Asked if there will be results from
the Dink case, she said she wasn't able to say much because they were
observing developments but they hope that Turkey will face up to its
political murders to prevent future killings.
"I see this as Turkey's most important problem," she added.
The hearing took place with the participation of five of the defendants
under arrest, Ogun Samast, Erhan Tuncel, Yasin Hayal, Ahmet Ä°skender
and Ersin Yolcu. Among a total of 20 defendants, Osman Hayal and
Mustafa Ozturk, who were released pending trial, were also in court.
The court's chief justice, Erkan Canak, said the telephone numbers
and records of the relevant police officers had been requested from
the Trabzon Police Department but the request had been refused as
the release of such documents would lead to "lapses in security."
Canak also said that intelligence reports written prior to Dink's
murder had been requested and had arrived at the court. The Dink
family lawyer, Bahri Belen, said all documents coming from the police
department talked about the "confidentiality of documents" but pointed
out that documents regarding crimes should not be secret.
The hearing will continue with the defense of Tuncel, one of the
key suspects, who reportedly had worked with the police and the
gendarmerie as an informant and gave them tip-offs about the plot
to kill Dink several months before the assassination. Tuncel, who
belongs to the Grand Unity Party (BBP), argued against the fact that
he had been labeled as a leader in a terrorist organization. He said
this was only because of his "political views."
Tuncel asked BBP leaders YaÅ~_ar Cihan and Halis Egemen, who were at
the court, whether or not the party approved of Dink's murder. Egemen
said they would never support an act of murder and they "love the
created because of the creator. This view does not discriminate
between Muslims or non-Muslims."
At the last hearing of the Dink trial last October, co-plaintiff lawyer
Fethiye Cetin stated that Dink's murder, along with that of an Italian
priest in 2006 and the 2007 slaying of three Christians in Malatya,
was part of an operation carried out by Ergenekon, a neo-nationalist
gang believed to be the extension of a clandestine network of groups
with members in the armed forces.
Today's Zaman
Feb 9 2010
Turkey
A group who gathered at the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ port protested against all
political murders with slogans such as "We Know the Murderers" and
"For Hrant, For Justice."
The "deep family" of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was
fatally shot by an ultranationalist teenager outside the Agos weekly in
2007, was present yesterday during the 12th hearing of the Dink trial.
"We are the 'deep' family of Hrant Dink," said Filiz Ali, daughter
of the great Turkish poet Sebahattin Ali, who was murdered in 1948
while trying to flee the country after serving time in prison for
insulting Ataturk. "Hrant's friends gave us permission today. We will
speak instead of them," she continued.
Family members of other victims of political murders have signed
a statement in support of the Dink family, including relatives of
journalists Ugur Mumcu, Cetin Emec, Metin Göktepe and Abdi İpekci;
prosecutor Dogan Oz; Kurdish writers Umit Kaftancıoglu, Turan Dursun,
Onat Kutlar and Musa Anter; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers'
Unions (DÄ°SK) President Kemal Turkler; folk singer Hasret Gultekin;
poets Behcet Aysan, Nesimi Cimen and Metin Altıok; terror victims
Yasemin Cebenoyan and Sevinc Ozguner; publisher Ä°lhan Erdost;
academic Cavit Orhan Tutengil; and Adana Police Chief Cevat Yurdakul.
'We came to share and bear witness to the injustice we have been
enduring for many years. We came to remind people how organized
political murders are covered up,' said supporters of Dink whose
relatives fell victim to shady political murders in the past
"We came to share and bear witness to the injustice we have been
enduring for many years. We came to remind people how organized
political murders are covered up, which we have held in our memory
since the murder of Sabahattin Ali," Filiz Ali said. By calling
themselves the "deep family," the Dink family's supporters are
referencing the "deep state," which is believed to have played a role
in Dink's murder.
The relatives of the victims demanded that no secrets should remain,
saying: "We came here to say that we are following you. We do not
believe that any secret can be so important as to carry the burden of
this dishonor, this humiliation. We came here to express our hope
that this court, which will start the hearing in a few minutes,
is powerful enough to bring out all the secrets."
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Ä°stanbul deputy Ufuk Uras, Ä°pekci's
daughter Nukhet Ä°pekci, Oz's wife Sezen Oz and writer Adalet Agaoglu
were also present to support the Dink family in addition to observers
from bar associations from Brussels and Paris.
In addition, the Demokratik Yargı Dernegi (Democratic Judiciary
Union), which was found as an alternative to the highly politicized
Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), released a press
statement, calling for light to be shed on political murders like
Dink's and others. They stated that political murders stand before
the democratic development of Turkey.
Ozgur Mumcu (L), the son of slain journalist Ugur Mumcu; Rakel Dink
(2nd from L), the widow of journalist Hrant Dink; Sezen Oz (2nd
from R), the widow of prosecutor Dogan Oz; and Nukhet Ä°pekci (R),
the daughter of the late journalist Abdi Ä°pekci, attended the 12th
hearing of the Dink trial on Monday.
Security was tight near the courthouse in BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ because of the
high number of people who came out in support of the Dink family. A
group of people who gathered at the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ pier protested against
all political murders with slogans such as, "For Hrant, For Justice"
and "Murderer State Will Be Held Accountable."
Dink's wife, Rakel, told reporters outside the courthouse that
there will be no salvation unless there is "admission, repentance
and apology."
When reminded that according to an interview with the Zaman daily,
Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu is considering naming a school in
Turkey after Hrant Dink, she said, "Let's see."
Next to Rakel Dink was Sezen Oz. Asked if there will be results from
the Dink case, she said she wasn't able to say much because they were
observing developments but they hope that Turkey will face up to its
political murders to prevent future killings.
"I see this as Turkey's most important problem," she added.
The hearing took place with the participation of five of the defendants
under arrest, Ogun Samast, Erhan Tuncel, Yasin Hayal, Ahmet Ä°skender
and Ersin Yolcu. Among a total of 20 defendants, Osman Hayal and
Mustafa Ozturk, who were released pending trial, were also in court.
The court's chief justice, Erkan Canak, said the telephone numbers
and records of the relevant police officers had been requested from
the Trabzon Police Department but the request had been refused as
the release of such documents would lead to "lapses in security."
Canak also said that intelligence reports written prior to Dink's
murder had been requested and had arrived at the court. The Dink
family lawyer, Bahri Belen, said all documents coming from the police
department talked about the "confidentiality of documents" but pointed
out that documents regarding crimes should not be secret.
The hearing will continue with the defense of Tuncel, one of the
key suspects, who reportedly had worked with the police and the
gendarmerie as an informant and gave them tip-offs about the plot
to kill Dink several months before the assassination. Tuncel, who
belongs to the Grand Unity Party (BBP), argued against the fact that
he had been labeled as a leader in a terrorist organization. He said
this was only because of his "political views."
Tuncel asked BBP leaders YaÅ~_ar Cihan and Halis Egemen, who were at
the court, whether or not the party approved of Dink's murder. Egemen
said they would never support an act of murder and they "love the
created because of the creator. This view does not discriminate
between Muslims or non-Muslims."
At the last hearing of the Dink trial last October, co-plaintiff lawyer
Fethiye Cetin stated that Dink's murder, along with that of an Italian
priest in 2006 and the 2007 slaying of three Christians in Malatya,
was part of an operation carried out by Ergenekon, a neo-nationalist
gang believed to be the extension of a clandestine network of groups
with members in the armed forces.