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FORMER DINK MURDER SUSPECT TUNCEL SAYS ASSASSINATION WAS WORK OF ERGENEKON
Today's Zaman
Jan 19 2012
Turkey
The court hearing the Hrant Dink murder trial ruled out the involvement
of an organized criminal structure in the assassination, but one of
the main suspects -- who was also released on Wednesday -- says the
killing was the job of Ergenekon, a clandestine network whose suspected
members -- including generals, military officers and many civilians --
are currently in jail for plotting a military takeover.
Erhan Tuncel, the controversial Trabzon police informant who was
sentenced to 10 years for his role in the 2004 bombing of a McDonald's
in Trabzon but was acquitted of all charges regarding the Dink murder,
including the prosecutors' claim that he was the one who gave orders
to Yasin Hayal -- the man who was given life for soliciting Dink's
shooter -- has spoken to Today's Zaman, stating that the court's
verdict pointing to an absence of an organized network behind the
crime was wrong.
Tuncel said that "there is an organized network behind the murder,"
in responding to questions e-mailed to his lawyer on Jan. 12 while he
was still in jail. Tuncel was released on Wednesday, one day after the
verdict. He has been in jail for five years, meaning he has already
completed the sentence he was dealt for the McDonald's murder under
provisions of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK).
He has been a controversial figure from the start, allegedly having
known the about the plot to assassinate Dink, although the court
ruling found him innocent of involvement in the murder or of being
part of a crime network that planned the assassination.
Tuncel told Today's Zaman that the murder was masterminded by
Ergenekon. Tuncel said Ergenekon sought to blame the murder on the
segments of society it had as its targets. He said there were many
shady aspects about the role of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command
of the murder. "Of course, there is also the Col. Ali Oz factor,"
he said in a four-page, handwritten letter in response to Today's
Zaman's e-mail received on Thursday.
In July of last year, the Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court of Peace
convicted six officers, including Trabzon Gendarmerie Commander Col.
Oz, on charges of dereliction of duty for their role in the failure
to prevent the murder of Dink. The suspects were accused of assisting
the murderers at the time that the plan to assassinate Dink was being
devised. Other suspects in the case testified that Col. Oz knew about
the plot but did nothing to prevent it.
Tuncel said for the murder to be solved in a true sense, "the forces
supporting" Yasin Hayal -- who was sentenced to life in prison for
soliciting the shooter, Ogun Samast, to commit the murder -- should
be found out. Tuncel firmly believes that the Dink murder was part of
a coup plan devised by Ergenekon. "Their plan was to take over the
intelligence unit of the police force and then eliminate all those
opposing the planned coup d'état. They wanted to stage this coup,"
he said.
Tuncel also talked about a book written by Nedim Å~^ener -- a
journalist currently jailed in the trial into the news website
OdaTV -- which prosecutors say acted as the media mouthpiece for
Ergenekon. Å~^ener's book investigating the Dink murder only showed
a portion of the real relationships. He also said that former Trabzon
Police Chief ReÅ~_at Altay destroyed all the evidence concerning the
Dink murder.
He also claimed that former Deputy Police Chief Emin Arslan --
currently jailed on charges of involvement in illegal narcotic trade
-- was the person who handled the narco-business run by Ergenekon. He
said Arslan, along with former intelligence department chief Sabri
Uzun and former Police Chief Hanefi Avcı, attempted to disrupt the
investigation by hinting at the wrong target.
Tuncel said the perpetrators of the Dink murder wanted to undermine
Ramazan Akyurek, who was the head of the intelligence department of the
National Police Department at the time of the murder, and Intelligence
Bureau Region C Director Ali Fuat Yılmazer. Both men were the targets
of allegations during the Dink murder investigation. He claimed that
Akyurek had become a target for Ergenekon for trying to investigate
the 2006 Council of State murder, which is now being probed by the
prosecutors conducting the investigation into Ergenekon.
"At that time in 2007, anybody who tried to mess with Ergenekon got
into trouble."
He also said that Veli Kucuk, a former general and a chief suspect
in the Ergenekon trial, and ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz,
another suspect in the trial, made conscious efforts to turn Dink
into a target for extreme right groups. "An ultranationalist hit man
killing an Armenian journalist was the perfect equation no one would
have any objections to," he said.
Today's Zaman
Jan 19 2012
Turkey
The court hearing the Hrant Dink murder trial ruled out the involvement
of an organized criminal structure in the assassination, but one of
the main suspects -- who was also released on Wednesday -- says the
killing was the job of Ergenekon, a clandestine network whose suspected
members -- including generals, military officers and many civilians --
are currently in jail for plotting a military takeover.
Erhan Tuncel, the controversial Trabzon police informant who was
sentenced to 10 years for his role in the 2004 bombing of a McDonald's
in Trabzon but was acquitted of all charges regarding the Dink murder,
including the prosecutors' claim that he was the one who gave orders
to Yasin Hayal -- the man who was given life for soliciting Dink's
shooter -- has spoken to Today's Zaman, stating that the court's
verdict pointing to an absence of an organized network behind the
crime was wrong.
Tuncel said that "there is an organized network behind the murder,"
in responding to questions e-mailed to his lawyer on Jan. 12 while he
was still in jail. Tuncel was released on Wednesday, one day after the
verdict. He has been in jail for five years, meaning he has already
completed the sentence he was dealt for the McDonald's murder under
provisions of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK).
He has been a controversial figure from the start, allegedly having
known the about the plot to assassinate Dink, although the court
ruling found him innocent of involvement in the murder or of being
part of a crime network that planned the assassination.
Tuncel told Today's Zaman that the murder was masterminded by
Ergenekon. Tuncel said Ergenekon sought to blame the murder on the
segments of society it had as its targets. He said there were many
shady aspects about the role of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command
of the murder. "Of course, there is also the Col. Ali Oz factor,"
he said in a four-page, handwritten letter in response to Today's
Zaman's e-mail received on Thursday.
In July of last year, the Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court of Peace
convicted six officers, including Trabzon Gendarmerie Commander Col.
Oz, on charges of dereliction of duty for their role in the failure
to prevent the murder of Dink. The suspects were accused of assisting
the murderers at the time that the plan to assassinate Dink was being
devised. Other suspects in the case testified that Col. Oz knew about
the plot but did nothing to prevent it.
Tuncel said for the murder to be solved in a true sense, "the forces
supporting" Yasin Hayal -- who was sentenced to life in prison for
soliciting the shooter, Ogun Samast, to commit the murder -- should
be found out. Tuncel firmly believes that the Dink murder was part of
a coup plan devised by Ergenekon. "Their plan was to take over the
intelligence unit of the police force and then eliminate all those
opposing the planned coup d'état. They wanted to stage this coup,"
he said.
Tuncel also talked about a book written by Nedim Å~^ener -- a
journalist currently jailed in the trial into the news website
OdaTV -- which prosecutors say acted as the media mouthpiece for
Ergenekon. Å~^ener's book investigating the Dink murder only showed
a portion of the real relationships. He also said that former Trabzon
Police Chief ReÅ~_at Altay destroyed all the evidence concerning the
Dink murder.
He also claimed that former Deputy Police Chief Emin Arslan --
currently jailed on charges of involvement in illegal narcotic trade
-- was the person who handled the narco-business run by Ergenekon. He
said Arslan, along with former intelligence department chief Sabri
Uzun and former Police Chief Hanefi Avcı, attempted to disrupt the
investigation by hinting at the wrong target.
Tuncel said the perpetrators of the Dink murder wanted to undermine
Ramazan Akyurek, who was the head of the intelligence department of the
National Police Department at the time of the murder, and Intelligence
Bureau Region C Director Ali Fuat Yılmazer. Both men were the targets
of allegations during the Dink murder investigation. He claimed that
Akyurek had become a target for Ergenekon for trying to investigate
the 2006 Council of State murder, which is now being probed by the
prosecutors conducting the investigation into Ergenekon.
"At that time in 2007, anybody who tried to mess with Ergenekon got
into trouble."
He also said that Veli Kucuk, a former general and a chief suspect
in the Ergenekon trial, and ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz,
another suspect in the trial, made conscious efforts to turn Dink
into a target for extreme right groups. "An ultranationalist hit man
killing an Armenian journalist was the perfect equation no one would
have any objections to," he said.