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TURKEY JAILS ARMENIAN JOURNALIST HRANT DINK'S KILLER
RTT News
July 25, 2011
(RTTNews) - A court in Turkey on Monday sentenced a Turkish man to
22 years and 10 months in jail for the murder of ethnic-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink more than four years ago.
The juvenile court in Istanbul sentenced 21-year-old Ogun Samast after
finding him guilty of shooting dead Hrant Dink outside his office in
Istanbul in January 2007. He was charged with murder and possession
of illegal firearms.
Samast's trial was held at the juvenile court as he was a minor while
committing the crime. Samast, a Turkish ultra-nationalist, had admitted
to killing Dink soon after the incident. Samast was only 17 when he
shot dead Dink.
At the time of his death, Dink was the the chief editor of the
bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos. Dink had angered
Turkish nationalists by referring to the mass killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century as a case of "genocide."
Dink had received several death threats before his eventual
assassination. In addition to Samast, several others are also facing
trial for conspiracy over Dink's murder. Several police and security
officials were given jail terms in June for failing to protect Dink
despite having information about the assassination plot.
The European Court of Human Rights had ruled last year that the
Turkish government had failed to protect Dink's life despite being
aware of the murder plans of Turkish ultra-nationalists. The court
also ordered the Turkish government to pay a compensation of about
$170,000 to the journalist's family for failing in its obligation to
protect Dink from the death threats.
by RTT Staff Writer
RTT News
July 25, 2011
(RTTNews) - A court in Turkey on Monday sentenced a Turkish man to
22 years and 10 months in jail for the murder of ethnic-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink more than four years ago.
The juvenile court in Istanbul sentenced 21-year-old Ogun Samast after
finding him guilty of shooting dead Hrant Dink outside his office in
Istanbul in January 2007. He was charged with murder and possession
of illegal firearms.
Samast's trial was held at the juvenile court as he was a minor while
committing the crime. Samast, a Turkish ultra-nationalist, had admitted
to killing Dink soon after the incident. Samast was only 17 when he
shot dead Dink.
At the time of his death, Dink was the the chief editor of the
bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos. Dink had angered
Turkish nationalists by referring to the mass killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century as a case of "genocide."
Dink had received several death threats before his eventual
assassination. In addition to Samast, several others are also facing
trial for conspiracy over Dink's murder. Several police and security
officials were given jail terms in June for failing to protect Dink
despite having information about the assassination plot.
The European Court of Human Rights had ruled last year that the
Turkish government had failed to protect Dink's life despite being
aware of the murder plans of Turkish ultra-nationalists. The court
also ordered the Turkish government to pay a compensation of about
$170,000 to the journalist's family for failing in its obligation to
protect Dink from the death threats.
by RTT Staff Writer