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TURKISH TOP OFFICIALS TRYING TO APPEASE UPROAR OVER DINK CASE
PanARMENIAN.Net
January 19, 2012 - 11:29 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's President and government officials sought
to appease uproar over the verdict in the case into Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink's murder, calling for patience until the judicial
process was completed, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
"I see the public's indignation. We have to wait for the completion of
the judicial process. The ruling will be appealed," President Abdullah
Gul said. He added that the State Inspection Board, which he had tasked
with looking into the Dink probe, would soon complete its report.
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin also urged patience, while Deputy
Prime Minister Bulent Arınc rejected criticism of the government, even
though he acknowledged the ruling had failed to satisfy public opinion.
"The government's only task was to find the perpetrators. We handed
them over to justice within 30 hours. We did our part," Arınc
said on the private TV8 channel, referring to the prompt capture of
self-confessed gunman Ogun Samast and his alleged accomplices.
In contrast to his colleagues, Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay slammed
the judges who concluded Dink's murder was an individual act rather
than the deed of an organized group that received protection from
state officials.
"If this is not an organized crime, then what other incident
is organized?" Gunay said in Antalya. The ruling had showed "how
efficient and resistant are the mechanisms that want to cover up this
murder," he added. He voiced hope that the Supreme Court of Appeals
would rectify the case because the current verdict "is impossible to
accept and understand."
Opposition parties also lashed out at the ruling. Emine Ulker Tarhan
of the Republican People's Party (CHP) maintained the "deep state"
was behind Dink's murder and the judiciary "kept mum over all that
has happened and now even approved it."
European Commission responsible for enlargement, Stefan Fule's
spokesman Peter Stano issued a statement saying the authorities had
failed to protect Dink even though they knew ultranationalists were
plotting to kill him.
Ria Oomen-Ruijten, European Parliament member and Turkey rapporteur,
said, "The verdict is disappointing. The Hrant Dink case could have
been an example of how properly functioning judicial institutions
deal with disruptive forces in society. This verdict makes clear the
need for further judicial reform in Turkey."
A Turkish court has convicted Yasin Hayal, a major suspect in the
killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, of instigating a
murder and sentenced him to life in prison, while Erhan Tuncel was
acquitted of murder charges by the court.
The Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court issued its ruling in the 25th
hearing of the case. Tuncel was given 10 years, six months for his role
in a McDonalds bombing in 2004. The court, however, acquitted Hayal and
several others of charges of acting under a terrorist organization's
orders, angering lawyers who say the trial failed to shed light on
alleged connections between the suspects and some state officials.
The Dink family's lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, slammed the ruling,
saying it meant that a "state tradition of political murders" was
deliberately left intact because it did not deal with accusations of
state involvement in the 2007 murder.
Today, January 19, marks the 5th anniversary of the murder.
PanARMENIAN.Net
January 19, 2012 - 11:29 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's President and government officials sought
to appease uproar over the verdict in the case into Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink's murder, calling for patience until the judicial
process was completed, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
"I see the public's indignation. We have to wait for the completion of
the judicial process. The ruling will be appealed," President Abdullah
Gul said. He added that the State Inspection Board, which he had tasked
with looking into the Dink probe, would soon complete its report.
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin also urged patience, while Deputy
Prime Minister Bulent Arınc rejected criticism of the government, even
though he acknowledged the ruling had failed to satisfy public opinion.
"The government's only task was to find the perpetrators. We handed
them over to justice within 30 hours. We did our part," Arınc
said on the private TV8 channel, referring to the prompt capture of
self-confessed gunman Ogun Samast and his alleged accomplices.
In contrast to his colleagues, Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay slammed
the judges who concluded Dink's murder was an individual act rather
than the deed of an organized group that received protection from
state officials.
"If this is not an organized crime, then what other incident
is organized?" Gunay said in Antalya. The ruling had showed "how
efficient and resistant are the mechanisms that want to cover up this
murder," he added. He voiced hope that the Supreme Court of Appeals
would rectify the case because the current verdict "is impossible to
accept and understand."
Opposition parties also lashed out at the ruling. Emine Ulker Tarhan
of the Republican People's Party (CHP) maintained the "deep state"
was behind Dink's murder and the judiciary "kept mum over all that
has happened and now even approved it."
European Commission responsible for enlargement, Stefan Fule's
spokesman Peter Stano issued a statement saying the authorities had
failed to protect Dink even though they knew ultranationalists were
plotting to kill him.
Ria Oomen-Ruijten, European Parliament member and Turkey rapporteur,
said, "The verdict is disappointing. The Hrant Dink case could have
been an example of how properly functioning judicial institutions
deal with disruptive forces in society. This verdict makes clear the
need for further judicial reform in Turkey."
A Turkish court has convicted Yasin Hayal, a major suspect in the
killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, of instigating a
murder and sentenced him to life in prison, while Erhan Tuncel was
acquitted of murder charges by the court.
The Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court issued its ruling in the 25th
hearing of the case. Tuncel was given 10 years, six months for his role
in a McDonalds bombing in 2004. The court, however, acquitted Hayal and
several others of charges of acting under a terrorist organization's
orders, angering lawyers who say the trial failed to shed light on
alleged connections between the suspects and some state officials.
The Dink family's lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, slammed the ruling,
saying it meant that a "state tradition of political murders" was
deliberately left intact because it did not deal with accusations of
state involvement in the 2007 murder.
Today, January 19, marks the 5th anniversary of the murder.