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NEWSPAPER EDITOR'S SHOOTER CONVICTED IN TURKEY
Ayla Albayrak
Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2011/07/25/newspaper-editors-shooter-convicted-in-turkey/?mod=google_news_blog
July 25, 2011
AFP/Getty Images A photo from Jan. 24, 2007, shows policemen escorting
Ogun Samast at a court in Istanbul. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced
Mr. Samast to almost 23 years in prison in the murder of newspaperman
Hrant Dink.More than four years after Turkish-Armenian newspaper
editor Hrant Dink was gunned down in central Istanbul, his killer
was sentenced Monday to 22 years and 10 months in prison for murder
and the illegal possession of a weapon.
Ogun Samast, was only 17 years old when he shot Mr. Dink dead in front
of the offices of his small Armenian newspaper, Agos, in January 2007.
The assassination triggered widespread outrage among many Turks who
saw the killing as the work of Turkey's so-called deep state.
Mr. Samast was arrested within two days after the murder, but the trial
went on for over four years and was criticized by Mr. Dink's family
and lawyers, as well as by international human rights organizations,
for an alleged failure to investigate evidence that a large network,
including Turkish military and police officers, were behind the
murder plot.
Last year the European Court of Human Rights concluded that Turkish
officials had not protected Mr. Dink after he received death threats,
despite his request. The court also found that there had not been a
thorough investigation against the security forces who knew Mr. Dink's
life was in danger.
After that, in a separate trial in the city of Trabzon that concluded
in June, a Turkish court sentenced two military officers to six
months in prison for ignoring intelligence that may have prevented
Mr. Dink's murder. Four other officials were also given four-month
sentences for neglecting their duties.
Due to Mr. Samast's young age at the time of the murder, the trial was
recently moved to a juvenile court. "Taking into account that this was
a juvenile court, we are pleased with the length of his sentence. This
decision is important in preventing similar crimes in the future," said
Inci Isbulur, a lawyer for Mr. Dink's family, in a telephone interview.
Mr. Samast still faces trial for membership in an illegal organization,
and the main murder trial continues against other 19 suspects.
Mr. Samast himself has said he was provoked to kill Mr. Dink, whom he
only knew from ultranationalist website articles that described the
Armenian writer as "a traitor to the nation" and an "enemy of Turks."
Mr. Dink was known for his outspoken articles on Turkish-Armenian
relations.
From: A. Papazian
Ayla Albayrak
Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2011/07/25/newspaper-editors-shooter-convicted-in-turkey/?mod=google_news_blog
July 25, 2011
AFP/Getty Images A photo from Jan. 24, 2007, shows policemen escorting
Ogun Samast at a court in Istanbul. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced
Mr. Samast to almost 23 years in prison in the murder of newspaperman
Hrant Dink.More than four years after Turkish-Armenian newspaper
editor Hrant Dink was gunned down in central Istanbul, his killer
was sentenced Monday to 22 years and 10 months in prison for murder
and the illegal possession of a weapon.
Ogun Samast, was only 17 years old when he shot Mr. Dink dead in front
of the offices of his small Armenian newspaper, Agos, in January 2007.
The assassination triggered widespread outrage among many Turks who
saw the killing as the work of Turkey's so-called deep state.
Mr. Samast was arrested within two days after the murder, but the trial
went on for over four years and was criticized by Mr. Dink's family
and lawyers, as well as by international human rights organizations,
for an alleged failure to investigate evidence that a large network,
including Turkish military and police officers, were behind the
murder plot.
Last year the European Court of Human Rights concluded that Turkish
officials had not protected Mr. Dink after he received death threats,
despite his request. The court also found that there had not been a
thorough investigation against the security forces who knew Mr. Dink's
life was in danger.
After that, in a separate trial in the city of Trabzon that concluded
in June, a Turkish court sentenced two military officers to six
months in prison for ignoring intelligence that may have prevented
Mr. Dink's murder. Four other officials were also given four-month
sentences for neglecting their duties.
Due to Mr. Samast's young age at the time of the murder, the trial was
recently moved to a juvenile court. "Taking into account that this was
a juvenile court, we are pleased with the length of his sentence. This
decision is important in preventing similar crimes in the future," said
Inci Isbulur, a lawyer for Mr. Dink's family, in a telephone interview.
Mr. Samast still faces trial for membership in an illegal organization,
and the main murder trial continues against other 19 suspects.
Mr. Samast himself has said he was provoked to kill Mr. Dink, whom he
only knew from ultranationalist website articles that described the
Armenian writer as "a traitor to the nation" and an "enemy of Turks."
Mr. Dink was known for his outspoken articles on Turkish-Armenian
relations.
From: A. Papazian