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DINK'S LAWYERS SEEK TO NIX JUVENILE DEFENSE
Hurriyet Daily News
Oct 26 2010
Turkey
Amid an ongoing debate over a court's decision to try Ogun Samast,
the alleged killer of journalist Hrant Dink, lawyers say the real
problem with the trial is its lack of scope. DAILY NEWS photo,
Hasan ALTINIÅ~^IK
Lawyers for assassinated journalist Hrant Dink objected Tuesday to
an Istanbul court's decision to try the main murder suspect in a
juvenile court, calling for his case to be re-merged with those of
other suspects.
Alleged killer Ogun Samast's dossier was removed from the Istanbul
court Monday based on revisions to the law affecting minors' legal
status in adult courts. Samast was under the age of 18 at the time
of the murder in 2007.
According to Fethiye Cetin, a lawyer for the Dink family, the law
enables the cases to be merged again, something he said the lawyers
would demand.
The impact of the court's decision Monday continues to be debated,
with lawyers and family members saying the real problem with the
trial is its lack of scope.
Though separating Samast from the other case will likely extend
the already prolonged legal process, it would not be that big of an
issue if the court revised its focus to address the "true responsible
parties," Arzu Becerik, another lawyer in the murder case, told the
Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday prior to Cetin's
statement. She said the lawyers' intention is to move the process in
that direction.
The defense also demanded that the European Court of Human Rights
decision that Turkey had failed to protect Dink be accepted as solid
evidence in the domestic case. The court has been criticized for
not investigating or bringing to trial high-level civil servants and
security personnel who made have played a role in Dink's death.
"Ogun is a detail in this case," Becerik said. "He is a part of the
case for sure, but not the defining part."
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent and the editor-in-chief
of Agos, was murdered in front of his newspaper's office in Istanbul
in January 2007.
According to Becerik, the lawyers' demand for the European court's
decision to play a role in an ongoing trial would be a first both in
Turkey and Europe, with the exception of prolonged arrest periods. She
claimed it would not have been possible for the current suspects to
have planned a political murder so professionally, and that the case
would not be settled even if they were given the strictest possible
sentences.
She said if their demand is not met, then the lawyers will take the
case to the European court again.
The European court decision will be final Dec. 14, following a
three-month period during which it is open to objections. The Istanbul
court dealing with the Dink case has decided to wait for this period
to end before making a ruling, although both Turkish authorities and
the Dink family have stated they will not object.
Samast's actual age was a matter of question in the first years of
the trial, but Becerik said the issue has since been settled. "We did
the research when he was first captured. He was born in a hospital
and has a brother younger than him. It is not possible for his age
to have been lowered," she said, adding that the necessary tests and
x-rays have been done to block legal ways to question his age on the
day of the murder.
Speaking about the case Tuesday, State Minister Cemil Cicek said,
"Everybody under 18 is a minor." He added that laws are not written for
specific persons or cases and that the application of recently changed
Law No. 6008, commonly known as the "stone-throwing children's law,"
was not inconsistent with its aim of easing the plight of juveniles
charged under Turkey's anti-terrorism laws.
Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay took a different approach Tuesday,
saying he "met the development with regret."
Main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, leader Kemal
Kılıcdaroglu said children who throw stones at security forces
should not be treated the same as those who fire guns.
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet Daily News
Oct 26 2010
Turkey
Amid an ongoing debate over a court's decision to try Ogun Samast,
the alleged killer of journalist Hrant Dink, lawyers say the real
problem with the trial is its lack of scope. DAILY NEWS photo,
Hasan ALTINIÅ~^IK
Lawyers for assassinated journalist Hrant Dink objected Tuesday to
an Istanbul court's decision to try the main murder suspect in a
juvenile court, calling for his case to be re-merged with those of
other suspects.
Alleged killer Ogun Samast's dossier was removed from the Istanbul
court Monday based on revisions to the law affecting minors' legal
status in adult courts. Samast was under the age of 18 at the time
of the murder in 2007.
According to Fethiye Cetin, a lawyer for the Dink family, the law
enables the cases to be merged again, something he said the lawyers
would demand.
The impact of the court's decision Monday continues to be debated,
with lawyers and family members saying the real problem with the
trial is its lack of scope.
Though separating Samast from the other case will likely extend
the already prolonged legal process, it would not be that big of an
issue if the court revised its focus to address the "true responsible
parties," Arzu Becerik, another lawyer in the murder case, told the
Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday prior to Cetin's
statement. She said the lawyers' intention is to move the process in
that direction.
The defense also demanded that the European Court of Human Rights
decision that Turkey had failed to protect Dink be accepted as solid
evidence in the domestic case. The court has been criticized for
not investigating or bringing to trial high-level civil servants and
security personnel who made have played a role in Dink's death.
"Ogun is a detail in this case," Becerik said. "He is a part of the
case for sure, but not the defining part."
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent and the editor-in-chief
of Agos, was murdered in front of his newspaper's office in Istanbul
in January 2007.
According to Becerik, the lawyers' demand for the European court's
decision to play a role in an ongoing trial would be a first both in
Turkey and Europe, with the exception of prolonged arrest periods. She
claimed it would not have been possible for the current suspects to
have planned a political murder so professionally, and that the case
would not be settled even if they were given the strictest possible
sentences.
She said if their demand is not met, then the lawyers will take the
case to the European court again.
The European court decision will be final Dec. 14, following a
three-month period during which it is open to objections. The Istanbul
court dealing with the Dink case has decided to wait for this period
to end before making a ruling, although both Turkish authorities and
the Dink family have stated they will not object.
Samast's actual age was a matter of question in the first years of
the trial, but Becerik said the issue has since been settled. "We did
the research when he was first captured. He was born in a hospital
and has a brother younger than him. It is not possible for his age
to have been lowered," she said, adding that the necessary tests and
x-rays have been done to block legal ways to question his age on the
day of the murder.
Speaking about the case Tuesday, State Minister Cemil Cicek said,
"Everybody under 18 is a minor." He added that laws are not written for
specific persons or cases and that the application of recently changed
Law No. 6008, commonly known as the "stone-throwing children's law,"
was not inconsistent with its aim of easing the plight of juveniles
charged under Turkey's anti-terrorism laws.
Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay took a different approach Tuesday,
saying he "met the development with regret."
Main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, leader Kemal
Kılıcdaroglu said children who throw stones at security forces
should not be treated the same as those who fire guns.
From: A. Papazian