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HRANT DINK: ISTANBUL MARCH AS VERDICT ANGER CONTINUES
BBC
19 January 2012
Marchers carried placards reading "We are all Hrant, we are all
Armenian" Continue reading the main story At least 20,000 people have
marched in Istanbul to mark five years since the murder of prominent
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Some of the demonstrators were driven by anger over verdicts delivered
this week in the latest trial of people linked to his killing.
Three people were jailed but allegations of official negligence or
state collusion were rejected.
Dink's actual killer, Ogun Samast, was jailed earlier for 22 years.
The journalist, shot dead outside the Istanbul offices of
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, had angered Turkish nationalists by
describing the mass killing of Armenians a century ago as genocide.
Ethnic Armenian journalist On Tuesday, a judge sentenced one man to
life imprisonment for incitement to murder Dink, and two others were
given 12 years in prison.
However, all three men, along with 16 other defendants, were acquitted
of the charge of being members of a criminal organisation.
The prosecutor, Hikmet Usta, said he would appeal against Judge Rustem
Eryilmaz's decision, and insisted there was sufficient evidence to
establish the murder had been an "organised crime".
Turkish President Abdullah Gul defended the verdicts of the court on
Thursday, saying "The conclusion of this case in a transparent and
just manner in line with our laws is an important test for us."
'We are all Armenian'
On Thursday, human rights activists placed red carnations on the
spot where Dink was shot dead by Samast in broad daylight, outside
the offices of Agos.
Dink's widow Rakel and his children were among the demonstrators,
many of whom carried placards reading "We are all Hrant, we are
all Armenian".
Red carnations surrounded a photo of Hrant Dink outside the Agos
offices Journalist and writer Karin Karakasli, an ethnic Armenian,
read out a statement from the window of the Agos offices.
"We want an end to this shame," she was quoted as saying by Turkish
newspaper Today's Zaman.
"They are telling us that the [case] file has been closed. The Dink
case is not a file that can be closed. The Dink case is a wound."
A smaller march was also held in the capital, Ankara, and rallies
and tributes to Dink were reported in other Turkish cities such as
Izmir and Bursa, and as far away as the Green Line in Cyprus.
Among those attending the Istanbul rally was prominent Turkish writer
Vedat Turkali, 92, who appeared in his wheelchair.
Dink's supporters say they have uncovered evidence that suggests
involvement by state officials and police in his murder.
But, they say, repeated requests to have those officials investigated
have been ignored, and in some cases important evidence has been
destroyed.
'Not thorough'
In his petition against the verdict, Prosecutor Usta pointed out that,
in his initial verdict, Judge Eryilmaz had left out one of the 19
defendants, thus acquitting only 18.
He said the fact that the judge had left out a suspect indicated that
the indictment had not been thoroughly examined.
Responding to his own verdict Sources quoted by Today's Zaman said
the omission had been accidental, and the 19th defendant's acquittal
was being announced separately.
Judge Eryilmaz has expressed doubts about his own verdict, saying
that any "connections" between the culprits and the state could not
be clearly established before the trial.
"However, this is the only decision we could take, according to the
available evidence," he told the private news channel NTV.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Turkey had
failed to protect Dink, despite being warned that ultra-nationalists
were plotting to kill him.
The court also criticised Turkish authorities over the investigation
of his murder.
The Turkish state strenuously denies that the deaths of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians in 1915-16 amounted to genocide.
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people were slaughtered or died
of starvation and disease when they were deported by the Ottoman Turks.
BBC
19 January 2012
Marchers carried placards reading "We are all Hrant, we are all
Armenian" Continue reading the main story At least 20,000 people have
marched in Istanbul to mark five years since the murder of prominent
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Some of the demonstrators were driven by anger over verdicts delivered
this week in the latest trial of people linked to his killing.
Three people were jailed but allegations of official negligence or
state collusion were rejected.
Dink's actual killer, Ogun Samast, was jailed earlier for 22 years.
The journalist, shot dead outside the Istanbul offices of
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, had angered Turkish nationalists by
describing the mass killing of Armenians a century ago as genocide.
Ethnic Armenian journalist On Tuesday, a judge sentenced one man to
life imprisonment for incitement to murder Dink, and two others were
given 12 years in prison.
However, all three men, along with 16 other defendants, were acquitted
of the charge of being members of a criminal organisation.
The prosecutor, Hikmet Usta, said he would appeal against Judge Rustem
Eryilmaz's decision, and insisted there was sufficient evidence to
establish the murder had been an "organised crime".
Turkish President Abdullah Gul defended the verdicts of the court on
Thursday, saying "The conclusion of this case in a transparent and
just manner in line with our laws is an important test for us."
'We are all Armenian'
On Thursday, human rights activists placed red carnations on the
spot where Dink was shot dead by Samast in broad daylight, outside
the offices of Agos.
Dink's widow Rakel and his children were among the demonstrators,
many of whom carried placards reading "We are all Hrant, we are
all Armenian".
Red carnations surrounded a photo of Hrant Dink outside the Agos
offices Journalist and writer Karin Karakasli, an ethnic Armenian,
read out a statement from the window of the Agos offices.
"We want an end to this shame," she was quoted as saying by Turkish
newspaper Today's Zaman.
"They are telling us that the [case] file has been closed. The Dink
case is not a file that can be closed. The Dink case is a wound."
A smaller march was also held in the capital, Ankara, and rallies
and tributes to Dink were reported in other Turkish cities such as
Izmir and Bursa, and as far away as the Green Line in Cyprus.
Among those attending the Istanbul rally was prominent Turkish writer
Vedat Turkali, 92, who appeared in his wheelchair.
Dink's supporters say they have uncovered evidence that suggests
involvement by state officials and police in his murder.
But, they say, repeated requests to have those officials investigated
have been ignored, and in some cases important evidence has been
destroyed.
'Not thorough'
In his petition against the verdict, Prosecutor Usta pointed out that,
in his initial verdict, Judge Eryilmaz had left out one of the 19
defendants, thus acquitting only 18.
He said the fact that the judge had left out a suspect indicated that
the indictment had not been thoroughly examined.
Responding to his own verdict Sources quoted by Today's Zaman said
the omission had been accidental, and the 19th defendant's acquittal
was being announced separately.
Judge Eryilmaz has expressed doubts about his own verdict, saying
that any "connections" between the culprits and the state could not
be clearly established before the trial.
"However, this is the only decision we could take, according to the
available evidence," he told the private news channel NTV.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Turkey had
failed to protect Dink, despite being warned that ultra-nationalists
were plotting to kill him.
The court also criticised Turkish authorities over the investigation
of his murder.
The Turkish state strenuously denies that the deaths of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians in 1915-16 amounted to genocide.
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people were slaughtered or died
of starvation and disease when they were deported by the Ottoman Turks.