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ARMENIAN PRIVATE KILLED INTENTIONALLY, NEW TESTIMONY SHOWS
TODAY'S ZAMAN
27 January 2012
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 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 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 Bal覺kc覺 was shot accidentally when he
was "joking around" with a close friend, K覺vanc Agaoglu. 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 Agaoglu, 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 Ek癬_i, who served in the military during the same period as
Sevag Bal覺kc覺, in his revised testimony said, "K覺vanc pointed his
rifle at Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to
testify in his favor," indicating that Agaoglu's family pressured
him into not describing what really happened.
They were serving at the Kozluk Gumu癬_g繹ru Gendarmerie Station at
the time of the murder.
The investigators in the initial stage of the probe were trying
to understand whether Bal覺kc覺 was really the victim of a hapless
accident or a murder committed with full intent. According to the
soldiers' account, Bal覺kc覺 was shot by Agaoglu 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 Agaoglu claiming he
had wanted to kill their son and knew what he was doing when he fired
his rifle. Agaoglu's lawyers asserted that their client was a very
close friend of Bal覺kc覺, and his rifle fired by accident. Earlier
testimony from Ek癬_i supported this statement. However, Ek癬_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 Agaoglu's uncle, Bulent 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 Ayd覺n court
after he was summoned. It wasn't clear why he changed his testimony,
but the Bal覺kc覺 family lawyers had requested to hear him again on
the grounds that they weren't present during the first testimony. This
is why Ek癬_i was summoned once again by the Ayd覺n 1st Criminal Court.
In his latest account, Ek癬_i told the judge hearing his testimony:
"I was told by suspect K覺vanc 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, K覺vanc Agaoglu unlocked
his rifle's safety and directed it at our other friend Sevag 癬^ahin.
And he fired the rifle. This way, Sevag 癬^ahin was wounded. I do
not know why K覺vanc fired at Sevag."
From: Baghdasarian
TODAY'S ZAMAN
27 January 2012
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 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 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 Bal覺kc覺 was shot accidentally when he
was "joking around" with a close friend, K覺vanc Agaoglu. 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 Agaoglu, 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 Ek癬_i, who served in the military during the same period as
Sevag Bal覺kc覺, in his revised testimony said, "K覺vanc pointed his
rifle at Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to
testify in his favor," indicating that Agaoglu's family pressured
him into not describing what really happened.
They were serving at the Kozluk Gumu癬_g繹ru Gendarmerie Station at
the time of the murder.
The investigators in the initial stage of the probe were trying
to understand whether Bal覺kc覺 was really the victim of a hapless
accident or a murder committed with full intent. According to the
soldiers' account, Bal覺kc覺 was shot by Agaoglu 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 Agaoglu claiming he
had wanted to kill their son and knew what he was doing when he fired
his rifle. Agaoglu's lawyers asserted that their client was a very
close friend of Bal覺kc覺, and his rifle fired by accident. Earlier
testimony from Ek癬_i supported this statement. However, Ek癬_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 Agaoglu's uncle, Bulent 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 Ayd覺n court
after he was summoned. It wasn't clear why he changed his testimony,
but the Bal覺kc覺 family lawyers had requested to hear him again on
the grounds that they weren't present during the first testimony. This
is why Ek癬_i was summoned once again by the Ayd覺n 1st Criminal Court.
In his latest account, Ek癬_i told the judge hearing his testimony:
"I was told by suspect K覺vanc 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, K覺vanc Agaoglu unlocked
his rifle's safety and directed it at our other friend Sevag 癬^ahin.
And he fired the rifle. This way, Sevag 癬^ahin was wounded. I do
not know why K覺vanc fired at Sevag."
From: Baghdasarian