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TENS OF THOUSANDS COMMEMORATE MURDERED ARMENIAN JOURNALIST
Monsters & Critics
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1686372.php/Tens-of-thousands-commemorate-murdered-Armenian-journalist
Jan 19 2012
Istanbul - Tens of thousands of Turks marched through central Istanbul
on Thursday to commemorate Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant-Dink,
who was gunned down outside his office five years ago.
Demonstrators marched from Istanbul's Taksim Square two kilometers to
Dink's former office, carrying placards demanding justice for the slain
journalist and chanting 'We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenian.'
Dink is believed to have been killed for publishing articles describing
the massacre of Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire as genocide,
a highly contentious issue in Turkey.
As well as commemorating his life, the participants were also
protesting against the legal process that followed.
Two men were convicted for his murder: Ogun Samast, who received a
23-years prison sentence for shooting Dink, and Yasin Hayal, who was
jailed for life for having incited the killing.
But judges two days ago acquitted 17 others of being members of an
unnamed terrorist group which had allegedly conspired to kill him.
That ruling has caused considerable controversy in Turkey, where
lawyers for Dink's family and human rights groups have long alleged
that the murder had been planned by a shady right wing terror group
with links to state officials.
Politicians from across the political spectrum have expressed
their unease with the verdict, with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin
announcing within hours that the legal process has not ended and will
be continued by Turkey's supreme court.
Speaking to reporters, Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned that
Turkey would be judged by the outcome of the case.
'The case must be concluded in a just and transparent manner in line
with our laws - this is an important test,' he warned.
Interviewed on Turkey's Kanal D TV channel, Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his unease both with the verdict and
the five years taken to reach it.
'This is very, very different from (the result) we expected,' he said
Tellingly, Rustem Eryilmaz, the judge who presided over the latest
hearing and who was responsible for acquitting the 17 alleged
conspirators, expressed his dissatisfaction with the verdict in an
interview with Turkish daily Vatan.
Pointing to the fact that Dink's murder was clearly well organized,
he expressed regret that the court had been unable to shed more light
on what had been behind the murder for lack of evidence.
Monsters & Critics
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1686372.php/Tens-of-thousands-commemorate-murdered-Armenian-journalist
Jan 19 2012
Istanbul - Tens of thousands of Turks marched through central Istanbul
on Thursday to commemorate Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant-Dink,
who was gunned down outside his office five years ago.
Demonstrators marched from Istanbul's Taksim Square two kilometers to
Dink's former office, carrying placards demanding justice for the slain
journalist and chanting 'We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenian.'
Dink is believed to have been killed for publishing articles describing
the massacre of Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire as genocide,
a highly contentious issue in Turkey.
As well as commemorating his life, the participants were also
protesting against the legal process that followed.
Two men were convicted for his murder: Ogun Samast, who received a
23-years prison sentence for shooting Dink, and Yasin Hayal, who was
jailed for life for having incited the killing.
But judges two days ago acquitted 17 others of being members of an
unnamed terrorist group which had allegedly conspired to kill him.
That ruling has caused considerable controversy in Turkey, where
lawyers for Dink's family and human rights groups have long alleged
that the murder had been planned by a shady right wing terror group
with links to state officials.
Politicians from across the political spectrum have expressed
their unease with the verdict, with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin
announcing within hours that the legal process has not ended and will
be continued by Turkey's supreme court.
Speaking to reporters, Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned that
Turkey would be judged by the outcome of the case.
'The case must be concluded in a just and transparent manner in line
with our laws - this is an important test,' he warned.
Interviewed on Turkey's Kanal D TV channel, Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his unease both with the verdict and
the five years taken to reach it.
'This is very, very different from (the result) we expected,' he said
Tellingly, Rustem Eryilmaz, the judge who presided over the latest
hearing and who was responsible for acquitting the 17 alleged
conspirators, expressed his dissatisfaction with the verdict in an
interview with Turkish daily Vatan.
Pointing to the fact that Dink's murder was clearly well organized,
he expressed regret that the court had been unable to shed more light
on what had been behind the murder for lack of evidence.