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TENS OF THOUSANDS COMMEMORATE KILLED ARMENIAN-TURKISH JOURNALIST IN TURKEY
Xinhua General News Service
January 19, 2012 Thursday 2:25 PM EST
China
Some 40,000 people took to the streets in Turkish cities of Istanbul,
Ankara, Izmir and Adana Thursday to commemorate Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink, who was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul
five years ago.
A large crowd gathered in Istanbul's Taksim square Thursday afternoon,
while 10,000 people were marching towards Agos' office in Halaskargazi
Street, where Dink, the editor-in-chief of an Armenian newspaper was
shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007 by an ultra- nationalist teenager in broad
daylight. Red carnations were placed on the spot where Dink fell.
The hit-man Ogun Samast and 18 others were brought to trial. Lawyers
for the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs presented evidence suggesting
that Samast was not acting alone. Another suspect named Yasin Hayal
was given life in prison for inciting Samast to kill.
The court's verdict, which found that the teenagers acted on their
own, came on Tuesday, two days before the fifth anniversary of Dink's
murder, triggering thousands to protest with a combined sense of
anger and grief.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Thursday in his second statement on
the verdict said that concluding the trial fairly and transparently
is a major test for Turkey.
"The Hrant Dink trial is an important trial. It has special sensitivity
since it concerns one of our non-Muslim citizens. It is a major test
for us to conclude the trial process so far and from now on in a fair
and transparent way," he said.
Xinhua General News Service
January 19, 2012 Thursday 2:25 PM EST
China
Some 40,000 people took to the streets in Turkish cities of Istanbul,
Ankara, Izmir and Adana Thursday to commemorate Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink, who was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul
five years ago.
A large crowd gathered in Istanbul's Taksim square Thursday afternoon,
while 10,000 people were marching towards Agos' office in Halaskargazi
Street, where Dink, the editor-in-chief of an Armenian newspaper was
shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007 by an ultra- nationalist teenager in broad
daylight. Red carnations were placed on the spot where Dink fell.
The hit-man Ogun Samast and 18 others were brought to trial. Lawyers
for the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs presented evidence suggesting
that Samast was not acting alone. Another suspect named Yasin Hayal
was given life in prison for inciting Samast to kill.
The court's verdict, which found that the teenagers acted on their
own, came on Tuesday, two days before the fifth anniversary of Dink's
murder, triggering thousands to protest with a combined sense of
anger and grief.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Thursday in his second statement on
the verdict said that concluding the trial fairly and transparently
is a major test for Turkey.
"The Hrant Dink trial is an important trial. It has special sensitivity
since it concerns one of our non-Muslim citizens. It is a major test
for us to conclude the trial process so far and from now on in a fair
and transparent way," he said.