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TURKISH POLICE CHIEF DENIES RESPONSIBILITY IN HRANT DINK MURDER CASEFONT SIZE: LARGER|SMALLER
Hurriyet
May 11 2011
Turkey
Former Trabzon Police Chief ReÅ~_at Altay has denied allegations of
negligence in the assassination of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink while giving testimony at the Trabzon Prosecutor's Office as
part of the murder investigation.
"As the chief of police [in the Black Sea province of Trabzon], I
was not informed about the assassination planned by [murder suspect]
Yasin Hayal. Following the murder, [police informant] Erhan Tuncel
was held at the department for 14 hours without my knowledge," Altay
said in his testimony.
"I heard of Yasin Hayal's name from [alleged shooter] Ogun Samast's
father. If I had any knowledge [earlier], I would have taken
precautions and ordered an operation," he said.
The investigation launched against the Trabzon Police Department
upon an appeal by the Dink family ended in a verdict not to sue,
but the Rize Court of Serious Crimes demanded a testimony from Altay
following objections by the Dink family.
"While I was in charge, Intelligence Department Directors Engin Dinc
and Faruk Sarı did not relay any information to me regarding the
planned assassination of Dink. I was not granted any information about
Yasin Hayal and Hrant Dink during any of the briefings," Altay said in
a testimony at the Fatih Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul on March 28.
Altay further claimed that he was not presented with the F-4 report
that included the warning that Hayal was planning to kill Dink on Feb.
15, 2006, and that neither Hayal's activities nor Dink's murder were
ever mentioned in any provincial public security meetings. Altay
also denied having had any conversations about the murder with former
Trabzon Police Chief Ramazan Akyurek.
"Intelligence Department Director Dinc told me that Erhan Tuncel
was his informer assistant, that Tuncel was in contact with radical
right-wing groups in Chechnya and that he had brought some news in
relation to this," Altay said. "I told [Dinc], 'Let me talk to him,
if there is any need.' Dinc replied, 'There is no need for you to
see him. I will handle it myself.' I was never told anything about
Tuncel relaying any information about Dink."
Tuncel, a former police informant in Trabzon, has said he continually
warned the Trabzon police about threats to Dink's life prior to the
murder. It was subsequently found that Akyurek, the chief of police
in Trabzon at the time, conveyed only one warning out of 11 to the
Istanbul Police Department, the Turkish media reported in January.
Altay also reiterated his earlier claims that he knew nothing about
Tuncel being held in the department for 14 hours and that he had
learned of Hayal through Samast's father.
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was the chief editor
for weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian. He
was shot in front of his Istanbul office in January 2007. Samast
stands accused of pulling the trigger, but questions linger about
the real masterminds behind Dink's death.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Hurriyet
May 11 2011
Turkey
Former Trabzon Police Chief ReÅ~_at Altay has denied allegations of
negligence in the assassination of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink while giving testimony at the Trabzon Prosecutor's Office as
part of the murder investigation.
"As the chief of police [in the Black Sea province of Trabzon], I
was not informed about the assassination planned by [murder suspect]
Yasin Hayal. Following the murder, [police informant] Erhan Tuncel
was held at the department for 14 hours without my knowledge," Altay
said in his testimony.
"I heard of Yasin Hayal's name from [alleged shooter] Ogun Samast's
father. If I had any knowledge [earlier], I would have taken
precautions and ordered an operation," he said.
The investigation launched against the Trabzon Police Department
upon an appeal by the Dink family ended in a verdict not to sue,
but the Rize Court of Serious Crimes demanded a testimony from Altay
following objections by the Dink family.
"While I was in charge, Intelligence Department Directors Engin Dinc
and Faruk Sarı did not relay any information to me regarding the
planned assassination of Dink. I was not granted any information about
Yasin Hayal and Hrant Dink during any of the briefings," Altay said in
a testimony at the Fatih Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul on March 28.
Altay further claimed that he was not presented with the F-4 report
that included the warning that Hayal was planning to kill Dink on Feb.
15, 2006, and that neither Hayal's activities nor Dink's murder were
ever mentioned in any provincial public security meetings. Altay
also denied having had any conversations about the murder with former
Trabzon Police Chief Ramazan Akyurek.
"Intelligence Department Director Dinc told me that Erhan Tuncel
was his informer assistant, that Tuncel was in contact with radical
right-wing groups in Chechnya and that he had brought some news in
relation to this," Altay said. "I told [Dinc], 'Let me talk to him,
if there is any need.' Dinc replied, 'There is no need for you to
see him. I will handle it myself.' I was never told anything about
Tuncel relaying any information about Dink."
Tuncel, a former police informant in Trabzon, has said he continually
warned the Trabzon police about threats to Dink's life prior to the
murder. It was subsequently found that Akyurek, the chief of police
in Trabzon at the time, conveyed only one warning out of 11 to the
Istanbul Police Department, the Turkish media reported in January.
Altay also reiterated his earlier claims that he knew nothing about
Tuncel being held in the department for 14 hours and that he had
learned of Hayal through Samast's father.
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was the chief editor
for weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian. He
was shot in front of his Istanbul office in January 2007. Samast
stands accused of pulling the trigger, but questions linger about
the real masterminds behind Dink's death.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress