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LAWYER CHANGES REMARKS ON GULEN MOVEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH MURDER OF HRANT DINK
Today's Zaman
Feb 27 2012
Turkey
A co-plaintiff lawyer representing the family of Hrant Dink, a Turkish
citizen of Armenian descent who was shot dead by an ultranationalist
teenager in January 2007, has told Today's Zaman that remarks he made
in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News misrepresented what he
really meant to say.
Cem Halavurt claimed in the Feb. 25 interview -- in which he focused
on the suggestion that a presidential report concluding the murder
was committed by an organized crime group and calling for officials
suspected of involvement to be investigated might be a turning point
in the Dink case - that: "The nationalists and the Fethullah Gulen
group saw the murder coming. They both agreed to commit to the murder.
They all wanted to profit from the outcomes of the murder." Asked by
Today's Zaman if his statements were correct, Halavurt said he needs
to correct his wording:
"It is not possible to accuse the whole group. I meant to say that
there are some people like Ramazan Akyurek in the police department
who are known to be followers of Fethullah [Gulen]. The same goes for
the İstanbul and Trabzon police departments' intelligence services.
They have not been investigated for their role in the murder despite
several requests for an investigation into those officials, since
there is evidence that they knew about the plan to murder Dink. I
should also say that I do not mean to accuse nationalists either. I
meant to point out the neo-nationalist group [ulusalcı] nested in
the structure of Ergenekon."
Dink was the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and
an outspoken member of the Armenian community. Despite judicial expert
opinion to the contrary,
Dink was convicted of violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK). The article has been criticized for stifling freedom of speech
as it forbids insulting "Turkishness."
Halavurt also said the "Gulen movement" benefited from the outcome of
the murder since he thinks: "They have used this murder against their
opponents. ... Two admirals in the "Kafes" [Cage] case wanted to be
part of the Hrant Dink trial; they are saying that it is because they
wanted to prevent the murder that they are now in prison. There is
a power struggle going on within the court cases."
Halavurt also claimed that the Ergenekon investigation started after
the murder of Dink. Ergenekon is a clandestine criminal network accused
of working to topple the government. Dozens of Ergenekon suspects,
including military officials, businessmen, journalists and academics,
are currently in prison on terror and coup charges as part of the
Ergenekon case.
Asked by Today's Zaman if co-plaintiff lawyers of the Dink family
share Halavurt's opinion as presented in the Hurriyet Daily News --
that the Gulen society "agreed on the commitment of the murder," --
Arzu Becerik, another co-plaintiff lawyer in the Dink case, said that
"nobody can say that."
Commenting on the words of Halavurt, human rights lawyer Orhan Kemal
Cengiz said as Halavurt himself admitted, he "makes no sense."
Cengiz, who is also one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs
in the Zirve murder case of April 2007, when three people who sold
Christian literature were brutally killed, said first of all the
Ergenekon investigation started following the discovery of hand
grenades inside a house in İstanbul's Umraniye district in the summer
of 2007, not as a result of Dink's murder.
Secondly, Yasin Hayal, a major suspect in the killing of Dink, said
that he was mainly in contact with the gendarmerie commander in
Trabzon, Cengiz added.
"Let's not forget that the Santoro, Dink and Malatya murders were
mentioned as 'operations' in the Cage Operation Action Plan. I agree
that those murders would not have happened if police had not turned
a blind eye. And it is also possible that the police was under the
influence of anti-missionary propaganda at the time," he said in
reference to the Cage (Kafes) plan, a suspected Naval Forces Command
plan targeting Turkey's non-Muslim communities.
Cengiz said that it is one thing to turn a blind eye to the murder
plans, and it is another thing to be among those planning the murder.
"Obviously, Halavurt is quite confused. His state of mind is quite
dangerous for a lawyer. His remarks show that he lacks a clear
understanding of the situation. I suspect that this unhealthy point
of view could have contributed to their loss of the case," he said.
In April 2010, an indictment regarding the Cage Operation Action
Plan was added to the case file on the 2007 Malatya murders. The plan
calls the killings of Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and
three Christians in Malatya an "operation." An antidemocratic group
within the Naval Forces Command aimed at fomenting chaos in society
with those killings, but complained that the plan failed when large
groups protested the killings in mass demonstrations.
Evidence collected in the Ergenekon investigation suggested that
the brutal killings might have been organized by Ergenekon, which is
suspected of a large number of murders and bombings aimed at creating
chaos in the country to serve the organization's ultimate purpose of
overthrowing the government.
"All those who tried to have Dink convicted are in jail as Ergenekon
suspects," Cengiz added.
Garo Paylan, one of the leading members of the "Hrant's Friends" group,
who, in their ongoing search for justice, call on the government to
punish the perpetrators of Dink's murder, told Today's Zaman that
Halavurt's remarks are quite "provocative."
"If he holds accountable the whole Gulen group for the murder, then
this is crossing a line. This is like saying 'all Armenians are
betrayers.' On the other hand, we expect a statement from the same
group saying that if there are followers of Fethullah Gulen in the
police and if they were involved in the murder of Dink, the group
supports their punishment to the end."
According to the final verdict in the five-year-long murder trial of
Dink, the suspects had no ties to a larger crime network but acted
alone. Judge Rustem Eryılmaz said amid growing outrage over a trial
that many feel has failed to shed light on alleged official negligence
or even collaboration; and that while he personally cannot deny the
murder was the work of an organized network, the evidence submitted
to the court was not sufficient to issue such a ruling. In addition,
the prosecution believes the killers are affiliated with the Ergenekon
network. The case went to the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Today's Zaman
Feb 27 2012
Turkey
A co-plaintiff lawyer representing the family of Hrant Dink, a Turkish
citizen of Armenian descent who was shot dead by an ultranationalist
teenager in January 2007, has told Today's Zaman that remarks he made
in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News misrepresented what he
really meant to say.
Cem Halavurt claimed in the Feb. 25 interview -- in which he focused
on the suggestion that a presidential report concluding the murder
was committed by an organized crime group and calling for officials
suspected of involvement to be investigated might be a turning point
in the Dink case - that: "The nationalists and the Fethullah Gulen
group saw the murder coming. They both agreed to commit to the murder.
They all wanted to profit from the outcomes of the murder." Asked by
Today's Zaman if his statements were correct, Halavurt said he needs
to correct his wording:
"It is not possible to accuse the whole group. I meant to say that
there are some people like Ramazan Akyurek in the police department
who are known to be followers of Fethullah [Gulen]. The same goes for
the İstanbul and Trabzon police departments' intelligence services.
They have not been investigated for their role in the murder despite
several requests for an investigation into those officials, since
there is evidence that they knew about the plan to murder Dink. I
should also say that I do not mean to accuse nationalists either. I
meant to point out the neo-nationalist group [ulusalcı] nested in
the structure of Ergenekon."
Dink was the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and
an outspoken member of the Armenian community. Despite judicial expert
opinion to the contrary,
Dink was convicted of violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK). The article has been criticized for stifling freedom of speech
as it forbids insulting "Turkishness."
Halavurt also said the "Gulen movement" benefited from the outcome of
the murder since he thinks: "They have used this murder against their
opponents. ... Two admirals in the "Kafes" [Cage] case wanted to be
part of the Hrant Dink trial; they are saying that it is because they
wanted to prevent the murder that they are now in prison. There is
a power struggle going on within the court cases."
Halavurt also claimed that the Ergenekon investigation started after
the murder of Dink. Ergenekon is a clandestine criminal network accused
of working to topple the government. Dozens of Ergenekon suspects,
including military officials, businessmen, journalists and academics,
are currently in prison on terror and coup charges as part of the
Ergenekon case.
Asked by Today's Zaman if co-plaintiff lawyers of the Dink family
share Halavurt's opinion as presented in the Hurriyet Daily News --
that the Gulen society "agreed on the commitment of the murder," --
Arzu Becerik, another co-plaintiff lawyer in the Dink case, said that
"nobody can say that."
Commenting on the words of Halavurt, human rights lawyer Orhan Kemal
Cengiz said as Halavurt himself admitted, he "makes no sense."
Cengiz, who is also one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs
in the Zirve murder case of April 2007, when three people who sold
Christian literature were brutally killed, said first of all the
Ergenekon investigation started following the discovery of hand
grenades inside a house in İstanbul's Umraniye district in the summer
of 2007, not as a result of Dink's murder.
Secondly, Yasin Hayal, a major suspect in the killing of Dink, said
that he was mainly in contact with the gendarmerie commander in
Trabzon, Cengiz added.
"Let's not forget that the Santoro, Dink and Malatya murders were
mentioned as 'operations' in the Cage Operation Action Plan. I agree
that those murders would not have happened if police had not turned
a blind eye. And it is also possible that the police was under the
influence of anti-missionary propaganda at the time," he said in
reference to the Cage (Kafes) plan, a suspected Naval Forces Command
plan targeting Turkey's non-Muslim communities.
Cengiz said that it is one thing to turn a blind eye to the murder
plans, and it is another thing to be among those planning the murder.
"Obviously, Halavurt is quite confused. His state of mind is quite
dangerous for a lawyer. His remarks show that he lacks a clear
understanding of the situation. I suspect that this unhealthy point
of view could have contributed to their loss of the case," he said.
In April 2010, an indictment regarding the Cage Operation Action
Plan was added to the case file on the 2007 Malatya murders. The plan
calls the killings of Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and
three Christians in Malatya an "operation." An antidemocratic group
within the Naval Forces Command aimed at fomenting chaos in society
with those killings, but complained that the plan failed when large
groups protested the killings in mass demonstrations.
Evidence collected in the Ergenekon investigation suggested that
the brutal killings might have been organized by Ergenekon, which is
suspected of a large number of murders and bombings aimed at creating
chaos in the country to serve the organization's ultimate purpose of
overthrowing the government.
"All those who tried to have Dink convicted are in jail as Ergenekon
suspects," Cengiz added.
Garo Paylan, one of the leading members of the "Hrant's Friends" group,
who, in their ongoing search for justice, call on the government to
punish the perpetrators of Dink's murder, told Today's Zaman that
Halavurt's remarks are quite "provocative."
"If he holds accountable the whole Gulen group for the murder, then
this is crossing a line. This is like saying 'all Armenians are
betrayers.' On the other hand, we expect a statement from the same
group saying that if there are followers of Fethullah Gulen in the
police and if they were involved in the murder of Dink, the group
supports their punishment to the end."
According to the final verdict in the five-year-long murder trial of
Dink, the suspects had no ties to a larger crime network but acted
alone. Judge Rustem Eryılmaz said amid growing outrage over a trial
that many feel has failed to shed light on alleged official negligence
or even collaboration; and that while he personally cannot deny the
murder was the work of an organized network, the evidence submitted
to the court was not sufficient to issue such a ruling. In addition,
the prosecution believes the killers are affiliated with the Ergenekon
network. The case went to the Supreme Court of Appeals.