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PROSECUTORS WHO THREATENED HAYAL'S FATHER TOLD TO EXPLAIN
Today's Zaman
Nov 17 2011
Turkey
A prosecutor will be hearing testimony from two prosecutors who
allegedly used intimidation to convince the father of a man who is
on trial as a suspect in the murder trial of Hrant Dink to retract
some parts of his testimony.
Specially Authorized Prosecutor Muammer AkkaÅ~_ has summoned
prosecutors Fatih Genc and Ali Can, who allegedly told Bahattin Hayal,
father of Dink murder suspect Yasin Hayal, to retract a statement
where he indicated that he had received congratulatory phone calls
from state officials on having raised "a worthy son who served his
country well" after the murder.
The prosecutor also summoned Yahya Ozturk, director of the Trabzon
Police Department's counterterrorism unit, who Bahattin Hayal said
told him that his son Yasin Hayal "was working for the state."
Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was the editor-in-chief of
the Agos newspaper, was shot dead by a teenager outside his office
in Taksim in 2007. Yasin Hayal, one of the prime suspects in the
investigation, is being accused of having solicited the hitman,
Ogun Samast, to carry out the murder.
Bahattin Hayal spoke to journalists following the latest session
of the trial held on Monday. He said prosecutors Genc and Can from
Trabzon, the hometown of the suspects where the plan to assassinate
Dink was devised, according to prosecutors, urged him to change his
initial testimony, which included information about phone calls from
state officials.
He said he had reported the congratulatory phone calls in his initial
testimony, but two prosecutors told him his statement could cause
him trouble. He said he had a meeting at the local police department
shortly after the Dink murder, where he was told by officer Yahya
Ozturk that his son worked for the state and took care of important
business.
More public officials could be summoned to testify as the court on
Monday also ruled to merge a separate trial into the alleged negligence
of state officials in preventing the assassination with the main murder
trial. Those who are likely to be summoned include the governor of
Ä°stanbul at the time, Ä°stanbul's police chief, the Trabzon chief
of police and the head of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
Nov 17 2011
Turkey
A prosecutor will be hearing testimony from two prosecutors who
allegedly used intimidation to convince the father of a man who is
on trial as a suspect in the murder trial of Hrant Dink to retract
some parts of his testimony.
Specially Authorized Prosecutor Muammer AkkaÅ~_ has summoned
prosecutors Fatih Genc and Ali Can, who allegedly told Bahattin Hayal,
father of Dink murder suspect Yasin Hayal, to retract a statement
where he indicated that he had received congratulatory phone calls
from state officials on having raised "a worthy son who served his
country well" after the murder.
The prosecutor also summoned Yahya Ozturk, director of the Trabzon
Police Department's counterterrorism unit, who Bahattin Hayal said
told him that his son Yasin Hayal "was working for the state."
Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was the editor-in-chief of
the Agos newspaper, was shot dead by a teenager outside his office
in Taksim in 2007. Yasin Hayal, one of the prime suspects in the
investigation, is being accused of having solicited the hitman,
Ogun Samast, to carry out the murder.
Bahattin Hayal spoke to journalists following the latest session
of the trial held on Monday. He said prosecutors Genc and Can from
Trabzon, the hometown of the suspects where the plan to assassinate
Dink was devised, according to prosecutors, urged him to change his
initial testimony, which included information about phone calls from
state officials.
He said he had reported the congratulatory phone calls in his initial
testimony, but two prosecutors told him his statement could cause
him trouble. He said he had a meeting at the local police department
shortly after the Dink murder, where he was told by officer Yahya
Ozturk that his son worked for the state and took care of important
business.
More public officials could be summoned to testify as the court on
Monday also ruled to merge a separate trial into the alleged negligence
of state officials in preventing the assassination with the main murder
trial. Those who are likely to be summoned include the governor of
Ä°stanbul at the time, Ä°stanbul's police chief, the Trabzon chief
of police and the head of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command.
From: A. Papazian