Tweet
COURT ANNULS DEMOTION OF POLICE CHIEF OVER ALLEGED FAILURE TO PREVENT DINK MURDER
Today's Zaman
May 9 2011
Turkey
An administrative court on Monday annulled an earlier Interior
Ministry decision to demote Ramazan Akyurek, the former head of the
National Police Department's intelligence department, over his alleged
negligence in protecting Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Dink was shot dead in broad daylight outside his newspaper, the Agos
weekly, in İstanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, by an ultranationalist teenager.
The ensuing investigation revealed that the police had been tipped
off about plans to murder the journalist.
Akyurek, who was at the helm of the intelligence department at the
time, was demoted by the Interior Ministry after allegations emerged
that he was among a number of police officers who had failed to prevent
the assassination of the journalist despite having credible evidence
that it was imminent.
The Ankara 14th Administrative Court on Monday reviewed an appeal filed
by Akyurek against his demotion and decided to annul the decision to
demote the former police chief. The court said there was no concrete
evidence that required his demotion over allegations of negligence.
Nineteen suspects are currently facing trial in the Dink murder case.
A majority of the suspects, including the hitman, are from Trabzon,
whose police department says it had informed the İstanbul Police
Department about the plot to kill Dink on more than one occasion.
The ensuing investigation and trial exposed the hitman's questionable
links to various individuals tied to the İstanbul Police Department
and the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command. Despite significant evidence
pointing to the involvement of various officers in organizing the plot
to kill Dink, the identity of the masterminds of his assassination
remains elusive.
Lawyers representing the co-plaintiffs in the Dink trial have long
alleged that the murder was the doing of Ergenekon, a clandestine
group charged with plotting to overthrow the government.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
May 9 2011
Turkey
An administrative court on Monday annulled an earlier Interior
Ministry decision to demote Ramazan Akyurek, the former head of the
National Police Department's intelligence department, over his alleged
negligence in protecting Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Dink was shot dead in broad daylight outside his newspaper, the Agos
weekly, in İstanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, by an ultranationalist teenager.
The ensuing investigation revealed that the police had been tipped
off about plans to murder the journalist.
Akyurek, who was at the helm of the intelligence department at the
time, was demoted by the Interior Ministry after allegations emerged
that he was among a number of police officers who had failed to prevent
the assassination of the journalist despite having credible evidence
that it was imminent.
The Ankara 14th Administrative Court on Monday reviewed an appeal filed
by Akyurek against his demotion and decided to annul the decision to
demote the former police chief. The court said there was no concrete
evidence that required his demotion over allegations of negligence.
Nineteen suspects are currently facing trial in the Dink murder case.
A majority of the suspects, including the hitman, are from Trabzon,
whose police department says it had informed the İstanbul Police
Department about the plot to kill Dink on more than one occasion.
The ensuing investigation and trial exposed the hitman's questionable
links to various individuals tied to the İstanbul Police Department
and the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command. Despite significant evidence
pointing to the involvement of various officers in organizing the plot
to kill Dink, the identity of the masterminds of his assassination
remains elusive.
Lawyers representing the co-plaintiffs in the Dink trial have long
alleged that the murder was the doing of Ergenekon, a clandestine
group charged with plotting to overthrow the government.
From: A. Papazian