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TURK COURT GIVES MAN LIFE SENTENCE OVER DINK MURDER CASE
By Ece Toksabay
Reuters
Jan 17 2012
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An Istanbul court convicted a man Tuesday for
instigating the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
five years ago, sentencing him to life imprisonment in a case closely
watched by human rights groups.
Editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and Turkey's
best known Armenian voice abroad, Dink was shot in broad daylight as
he left his Istanbul office in January 2007.
The judge sentenced Yasin Hayal to life imprisonment and acquitted
19 defendants of a charge of being part of a terrorist group. A
juvenile court sentenced Dink's assassin, Ogun Samast, to 22 years
and 10 months in jail last July. He was 17 when the killing took place.
The Dink case has been closely followed by the European Union as it
underlined concerns over EU-candidate Turkey's human rights record
and democratic credentials.
After the verdict, 200 people joined members of Dink's family in a
march from the court to the place where he was shot dead in central
Istanbul, angered that the court did not further examine the alleged
role of state officials in the killing.
In a statement ahead of the verdict, Amnesty International said
authorities had still not investigated the full circumstances behind
Dink's murder.
"The Turkish authorities have failed to address state officials'
alleged involvement in the killing," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty
International's expert on Turkey.
"The security services knew of the murder plot and were in
communication with those accused of the murder yet nothing was done
to stop it taking place," he said.
Calls by Dink's family to investigate the collusion and negligence
of state officials in the murder, have not been heeded, he added.
In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkish
authorities to pay 100,000 euros to Dink's family in compensation,
saying authorities had failed to adequately protect Dink even though
they knew ultra-nationalists were plotting to kill him.
Seven security officials have been convicted for their failure to
relay information of the plot that could have prevented the murder.
Dink had angered nationalists with articles on Armenian identity and
references to a Turkish "genocide" of Christian Armenians in 1915. He
was repeatedly prosecuted for insulting "Turkishness."
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Writing by Daren Butler)
By Ece Toksabay
Reuters
Jan 17 2012
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An Istanbul court convicted a man Tuesday for
instigating the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
five years ago, sentencing him to life imprisonment in a case closely
watched by human rights groups.
Editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and Turkey's
best known Armenian voice abroad, Dink was shot in broad daylight as
he left his Istanbul office in January 2007.
The judge sentenced Yasin Hayal to life imprisonment and acquitted
19 defendants of a charge of being part of a terrorist group. A
juvenile court sentenced Dink's assassin, Ogun Samast, to 22 years
and 10 months in jail last July. He was 17 when the killing took place.
The Dink case has been closely followed by the European Union as it
underlined concerns over EU-candidate Turkey's human rights record
and democratic credentials.
After the verdict, 200 people joined members of Dink's family in a
march from the court to the place where he was shot dead in central
Istanbul, angered that the court did not further examine the alleged
role of state officials in the killing.
In a statement ahead of the verdict, Amnesty International said
authorities had still not investigated the full circumstances behind
Dink's murder.
"The Turkish authorities have failed to address state officials'
alleged involvement in the killing," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty
International's expert on Turkey.
"The security services knew of the murder plot and were in
communication with those accused of the murder yet nothing was done
to stop it taking place," he said.
Calls by Dink's family to investigate the collusion and negligence
of state officials in the murder, have not been heeded, he added.
In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkish
authorities to pay 100,000 euros to Dink's family in compensation,
saying authorities had failed to adequately protect Dink even though
they knew ultra-nationalists were plotting to kill him.
Seven security officials have been convicted for their failure to
relay information of the plot that could have prevented the murder.
Dink had angered nationalists with articles on Armenian identity and
references to a Turkish "genocide" of Christian Armenians in 1915. He
was repeatedly prosecuted for insulting "Turkishness."
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Writing by Daren Butler)