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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 27 2012
Armenian private killed intentionally, new testimony shows
A young man of Armenian descent who was killed while serving in the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) as a conscripted private, which was
initially believed to be an accident, is likely a hate crime committed
because of the victim's ethnic background, new testimony from another
private indicates.
Pvt. Sevag Å?ahin Balıkçı was shot dead on April 24, 2011 -- the date
the Armenian Diaspora has chosen to commemorate the incidents of 1915
when hundreds of Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire. The
other privates in his unit, stationed in Batman province, and other
officers testified that Balıkçı was shot accidentally when he was
`joking around' with a close friend, Kıvanç AÄ?aoÄ?lu. However,
according to a report published in the Sabah daily on Friday, one of
the privates who witnessed the incident changed his testimony, which
will likely change the course of the trial of AÄ?aoÄ?lu, the shooter.
The revised testimony was given in late December, according to Sabah's
report. It wasn't clear why there were no reports on it earlier.
Halil EkÅ?i, who served in the military during the same period as Sevag
Balıkçı, in his revised testimony said, `Kıvanç pointed his rifle at
Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to testify in
his favor,' indicating that AÄ?aoÄ?lu's family pressured him into not
describing what really happened.
They were serving at the Kozluk GümüÅ?görü Gendarmerie Station at the
time of the murder.
The investigators in the initial stage of the probe were trying to
understand whether Balıkçı was really the victim of a hapless accident
or a murder committed with full intent. According to the soldiers'
account, Balıkçı was shot by AÄ?aoÄ?lu when they were installing a
chain-link fence around the gendarmerie station.
The family, mainly based on suspicions arising from the date of the
murder, had earlier filed criminal charges against AÄ?aoÄ?lu claiming he
had wanted to kill their son and knew what he was doing when he fired
his rifle. AÄ?aoÄ?lu's lawyers asserted that their client was a very
close friend of Balıkçı, and his rifle fired by accident. Earlier
testimony from EkÅ?i supported this statement. However, EkÅ?i, who
testified once again on Dec. 27, 2011, said he wanted to change his
initial testimony. He said he did not see the suspect playing around
with the rifle and noted that AÄ?aoÄ?lu's uncle, Bülent Kaya, had
visited him in his hometown and in fact wrote his initial testimony
with him. He gave his first testimony on Sept. 9, 2011, in an Aydın
court after he was summoned. It wasn't clear why he changed his
testimony, but the Balıkçı family lawyers had requested to hear him
again on the grounds that they weren't present during the first
testimony. This is why EkÅ?i was summoned once again by the Aydın 1st
Criminal Court.
In his latest account, EkÅ?i told the judge hearing his testimony: `I
was told by suspect Kıvanç and his family, especially his uncle, to
testify in his favor. On the day of the incident, we were installing
chain-link fencing around the station under orders from our
commanders. As we did our work, at some point, Kıvanç AÄ?aoÄ?lu unlocked
his rifle's safety and directed it at our other friend Sevag Å?ahin.
And he fired the rifle. This way, Sevag Å?ahin was wounded. I do not
know why Kıvanç fired at Sevag.'
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-269806-armenian-private-killed-intentionally-new-testimony-shows.html
Jan 27 2012
Armenian private killed intentionally, new testimony shows
A young man of Armenian descent who was killed while serving in the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) as a conscripted private, which was
initially believed to be an accident, is likely a hate crime committed
because of the victim's ethnic background, new testimony from another
private indicates.
Pvt. Sevag Å?ahin Balıkçı was shot dead on April 24, 2011 -- the date
the Armenian Diaspora has chosen to commemorate the incidents of 1915
when hundreds of Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire. The
other privates in his unit, stationed in Batman province, and other
officers testified that Balıkçı was shot accidentally when he was
`joking around' with a close friend, Kıvanç AÄ?aoÄ?lu. However,
according to a report published in the Sabah daily on Friday, one of
the privates who witnessed the incident changed his testimony, which
will likely change the course of the trial of AÄ?aoÄ?lu, the shooter.
The revised testimony was given in late December, according to Sabah's
report. It wasn't clear why there were no reports on it earlier.
Halil EkÅ?i, who served in the military during the same period as Sevag
Balıkçı, in his revised testimony said, `Kıvanç pointed his rifle at
Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to testify in
his favor,' indicating that AÄ?aoÄ?lu's family pressured him into not
describing what really happened.
They were serving at the Kozluk GümüÅ?görü Gendarmerie Station at the
time of the murder.
The investigators in the initial stage of the probe were trying to
understand whether Balıkçı was really the victim of a hapless accident
or a murder committed with full intent. According to the soldiers'
account, Balıkçı was shot by AÄ?aoÄ?lu when they were installing a
chain-link fence around the gendarmerie station.
The family, mainly based on suspicions arising from the date of the
murder, had earlier filed criminal charges against AÄ?aoÄ?lu claiming he
had wanted to kill their son and knew what he was doing when he fired
his rifle. AÄ?aoÄ?lu's lawyers asserted that their client was a very
close friend of Balıkçı, and his rifle fired by accident. Earlier
testimony from EkÅ?i supported this statement. However, EkÅ?i, who
testified once again on Dec. 27, 2011, said he wanted to change his
initial testimony. He said he did not see the suspect playing around
with the rifle and noted that AÄ?aoÄ?lu's uncle, Bülent Kaya, had
visited him in his hometown and in fact wrote his initial testimony
with him. He gave his first testimony on Sept. 9, 2011, in an Aydın
court after he was summoned. It wasn't clear why he changed his
testimony, but the Balıkçı family lawyers had requested to hear him
again on the grounds that they weren't present during the first
testimony. This is why EkÅ?i was summoned once again by the Aydın 1st
Criminal Court.
In his latest account, EkÅ?i told the judge hearing his testimony: `I
was told by suspect Kıvanç and his family, especially his uncle, to
testify in his favor. On the day of the incident, we were installing
chain-link fencing around the station under orders from our
commanders. As we did our work, at some point, Kıvanç AÄ?aoÄ?lu unlocked
his rifle's safety and directed it at our other friend Sevag Å?ahin.
And he fired the rifle. This way, Sevag Å?ahin was wounded. I do not
know why Kıvanç fired at Sevag.'
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-269806-armenian-private-killed-intentionally-new-testimony-shows.html