Tweet
FATHER OF SUSPECT CASTS DOUBT ON DINK TRIAL'S FATE
Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 14 2011
Turkey
Bahattin Hayal, the father of a murder suspect in Hrant Dink trial,
claims that his son was tricked by state officials into the murder
and he will announce their names
A group of protesters hold a banner that reads 'For Hrant, for Justice'
during a demonstration in front of the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ courthouse before
a hearing of Dink murder trial. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL
The father of one of the suspected conspirators in the Hrant Dink
murder has withdrawn his initial testimony due to fears about his
personal safety and expressed no confidence that the case will ever
be resolved in its entirety.
"I am in full agreement with the Dink family's lawyers. I do not
believe that the dark side of this case will truly come to light. I
cannot look at the faces of the Dink family; it gives me pain,"
Bahattin Hayal, the father of suspect Yasin Hayal, who allegedly
instigated hitman Ogun Samast to assassinate the Turkish-Armenian
journalist, told reporters yesterday after a hearing.
Only minutes before the end of the most recent hearing in Istanbul's
BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ courthouse, Bahattin Hayal requested to act as a witness,
adding that he held important information. His request, however,
was denied by the court.
"They warned me that I would find myself in trouble. I told them
that I had shared the truth with them, but they forced me to change
my testimony," he said.
A high-ranking official in the southeastern province of Mardin has
frequently transmitted messages to him through an intermediary, he
said, adding that he would share that information with the public in
short order.
"Following the murder, many people who got involved in the incident,
including [suspect] Erhan Tuncel, received bonuses," the suspect's
father said.
"Erhan [Tuncel] takes a computer printout of Hrant Dink's picture and
tells my son that it is the 'Armenians' Ataturk' and thus depicts him
as a target. How would my son know anything about Hrant Dink or Agos?"
he said, adding that his son was used by Tuncel.
"Erhan Tuncel ought to reveal [the identity of] his superiors and
what their connections are. My son has become a snack in the feast
of the wolves," he said.
Meanwhile, just over two months are left until the erasure of phone
records relevant to the case. The Telecommunications Directorate
(TÄ°B), which possesses the records, earlier refused two court demands
to disclose the records; when a higher court also ruled in the same
vein, the body then issued a series of demands of its own for the
records to be revealed. Phone records are only kept for five years,
meaning authorities must convince TÄ°B to release the transcripts by
Jan. 19, 2012, the fifth anniversary of Dink's murder.
Dink, a 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 office in January 2007; Samast was sentenced to
22 years in prison on July for the murder.
GOVERNMENT BLAMED FOR RECORDS
The Malatya deputy of the main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) has accused the country's Telecommunications Directorate (TÄ°B)
of attempting to hamper the Dink case and accusing the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP) of standing behind the body's actions.
"Nearly all state institutions are working to prolong the [trial]
process and to make [people] forget about the murder, rather than
trying to shed light on it," CHP deputy Veli Agbaba told members of
the press in Parliament.
The TÄ°B's behavior bordered on the negligent and intentional, Agbaba
said, adding that he TÄ°B's temerity comes from the fact that its
president is protected by the AKP.
Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 14 2011
Turkey
Bahattin Hayal, the father of a murder suspect in Hrant Dink trial,
claims that his son was tricked by state officials into the murder
and he will announce their names
A group of protesters hold a banner that reads 'For Hrant, for Justice'
during a demonstration in front of the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ courthouse before
a hearing of Dink murder trial. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL
The father of one of the suspected conspirators in the Hrant Dink
murder has withdrawn his initial testimony due to fears about his
personal safety and expressed no confidence that the case will ever
be resolved in its entirety.
"I am in full agreement with the Dink family's lawyers. I do not
believe that the dark side of this case will truly come to light. I
cannot look at the faces of the Dink family; it gives me pain,"
Bahattin Hayal, the father of suspect Yasin Hayal, who allegedly
instigated hitman Ogun Samast to assassinate the Turkish-Armenian
journalist, told reporters yesterday after a hearing.
Only minutes before the end of the most recent hearing in Istanbul's
BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ courthouse, Bahattin Hayal requested to act as a witness,
adding that he held important information. His request, however,
was denied by the court.
"They warned me that I would find myself in trouble. I told them
that I had shared the truth with them, but they forced me to change
my testimony," he said.
A high-ranking official in the southeastern province of Mardin has
frequently transmitted messages to him through an intermediary, he
said, adding that he would share that information with the public in
short order.
"Following the murder, many people who got involved in the incident,
including [suspect] Erhan Tuncel, received bonuses," the suspect's
father said.
"Erhan [Tuncel] takes a computer printout of Hrant Dink's picture and
tells my son that it is the 'Armenians' Ataturk' and thus depicts him
as a target. How would my son know anything about Hrant Dink or Agos?"
he said, adding that his son was used by Tuncel.
"Erhan Tuncel ought to reveal [the identity of] his superiors and
what their connections are. My son has become a snack in the feast
of the wolves," he said.
Meanwhile, just over two months are left until the erasure of phone
records relevant to the case. The Telecommunications Directorate
(TÄ°B), which possesses the records, earlier refused two court demands
to disclose the records; when a higher court also ruled in the same
vein, the body then issued a series of demands of its own for the
records to be revealed. Phone records are only kept for five years,
meaning authorities must convince TÄ°B to release the transcripts by
Jan. 19, 2012, the fifth anniversary of Dink's murder.
Dink, a 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 office in January 2007; Samast was sentenced to
22 years in prison on July for the murder.
GOVERNMENT BLAMED FOR RECORDS
The Malatya deputy of the main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) has accused the country's Telecommunications Directorate (TÄ°B)
of attempting to hamper the Dink case and accusing the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP) of standing behind the body's actions.
"Nearly all state institutions are working to prolong the [trial]
process and to make [people] forget about the murder, rather than
trying to shed light on it," CHP deputy Veli Agbaba told members of
the press in Parliament.
The TÄ°B's behavior bordered on the negligent and intentional, Agbaba
said, adding that he TÄ°B's temerity comes from the fact that its
president is protected by the AKP.