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Dink family lawyers concerned about safety of secret witness
http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/02/15/dink-family-lawyers-concerned-about-safety-of-secret-witness/
15:00 15.02.2013
Lawyers representing the family of slain journalist Hrant Dink say
information a secret witness is willing to provide about the murder is
highly important but note that they don't want to comment in detail
for fear of his safety, Today's Zaman reports.
Dink family lawyer Fethiye Çetin was quoted by the Star daily on
Thursday as saying she knew that information from the unnamed witness
was likely to change the course of the Dink murder investigation, but
also noted that she and the other lawyers didn't want the witness to
get wide press coverage, fearing for his safety. Secret witnesses in
other trials have understandably changed their testimonies later due
to intimidation ` such as in the case of the Cizre murders trial where
a colonel stands accused of having established a death squad under the
gendarmerie force.
The secret witness emerged unexpectedly when he wrote to prosecutors
earlier this year saying he had comprehensive information about the
background of the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink, who
was the editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly at the time. He said he is
willing to share everything he knows about the network behind the
murder in return for witness protection. His initials are M.A.,
according to the Star daily, and it has been confirmed that he is an
inmate at a prison doing jail time for a homicide conviction. The
person, who says he will talk to the court in return for protection
both for himself and his family, claims he worked for JÄ°TEM, an
illegal organization that was established in the gendarmerie in the
1990s to fight terrorism but employed illegitimate and often brutal
methods. He also wrote in his initial letter that he was involved in
the planning phase of the murder and has valuable information
regarding the planning and the aftermath of the assassination, but
stated that he fears his fate might be like that of Mustafa Duyar, one
of three members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front
(DHKP/C) involved in the 1995 murder of businessman Ã-zdemir Sabancı.
Witnesses claimed Duyar was killed because he knew too much about
those behind the Sabancı murder.
Hakan BakırcıoÄ?lu, another lawyer representing the Dink family,
confirmed that the letter and testimony written by the secret witness
had been relayed to the court. However, like Çetin, he also said they
weren't willing to talk at length about the witness and what he knows
due to safety concerns. BakırcıoÄ?lu said: `This development
[submission of statement to court] wasn't made public due to fears for
the witness's safety. We will not make any statements at this point so
that the process can move forward in a sound manner.'
Orhan Dink, the late journalist's brother, also responded to questions
about the new witness, saying: `The secret witness is giving out very
important information. He also says he has more information. Every
piece of new information is important.'
In another related development, Muammer AkkaÅ?, the prosecutor
conducting the investigation into the Dink assassination, will soon
hear the secret witness's testimony under high security measures,
according to reports. The Ä°stanbul 2nd Juvenile Criminal Court ' which
is hearing the murder trial because the shooter who gunned Dink down
was a minor at the time of the assassination ' has ordered that the
witness be included in a witness protection program, reports said.
Dink was shot dead in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007, by an
ultranationalist teenager outside the offices of his newspaper in
Ä°stanbul.
The Dink murder case is currently under review by the Supreme Court of
Appeals, following an appeal filed by Dink family lawyers.
The local court delivered its controversial ruling in the Dink murder
case on Jan. 17, 2012, acquitting all 19 suspects of charges of
membership in any kind of criminal organization. The court's decision
drew widespread ire in Turkey as people took to the streets to protest
the verdict.
The local court handed down a sentence of life imprisonment for Yasin
Hayal, a prime suspect in the murder of Dink, for inciting murder, and
life without the possibility of parole for Ogün Samast, the hitman.
Erhan Tuncel, another suspect in the case, was acquitted of murder
charges. Tuncel received 10 years, six months for an unrelated bombing
of a McDonald's restaurant in 2004.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/02/15/dink-family-lawyers-concerned-about-safety-of-secret-witness/
15:00 15.02.2013
Lawyers representing the family of slain journalist Hrant Dink say
information a secret witness is willing to provide about the murder is
highly important but note that they don't want to comment in detail
for fear of his safety, Today's Zaman reports.
Dink family lawyer Fethiye Çetin was quoted by the Star daily on
Thursday as saying she knew that information from the unnamed witness
was likely to change the course of the Dink murder investigation, but
also noted that she and the other lawyers didn't want the witness to
get wide press coverage, fearing for his safety. Secret witnesses in
other trials have understandably changed their testimonies later due
to intimidation ` such as in the case of the Cizre murders trial where
a colonel stands accused of having established a death squad under the
gendarmerie force.
The secret witness emerged unexpectedly when he wrote to prosecutors
earlier this year saying he had comprehensive information about the
background of the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink, who
was the editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly at the time. He said he is
willing to share everything he knows about the network behind the
murder in return for witness protection. His initials are M.A.,
according to the Star daily, and it has been confirmed that he is an
inmate at a prison doing jail time for a homicide conviction. The
person, who says he will talk to the court in return for protection
both for himself and his family, claims he worked for JÄ°TEM, an
illegal organization that was established in the gendarmerie in the
1990s to fight terrorism but employed illegitimate and often brutal
methods. He also wrote in his initial letter that he was involved in
the planning phase of the murder and has valuable information
regarding the planning and the aftermath of the assassination, but
stated that he fears his fate might be like that of Mustafa Duyar, one
of three members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front
(DHKP/C) involved in the 1995 murder of businessman Ã-zdemir Sabancı.
Witnesses claimed Duyar was killed because he knew too much about
those behind the Sabancı murder.
Hakan BakırcıoÄ?lu, another lawyer representing the Dink family,
confirmed that the letter and testimony written by the secret witness
had been relayed to the court. However, like Çetin, he also said they
weren't willing to talk at length about the witness and what he knows
due to safety concerns. BakırcıoÄ?lu said: `This development
[submission of statement to court] wasn't made public due to fears for
the witness's safety. We will not make any statements at this point so
that the process can move forward in a sound manner.'
Orhan Dink, the late journalist's brother, also responded to questions
about the new witness, saying: `The secret witness is giving out very
important information. He also says he has more information. Every
piece of new information is important.'
In another related development, Muammer AkkaÅ?, the prosecutor
conducting the investigation into the Dink assassination, will soon
hear the secret witness's testimony under high security measures,
according to reports. The Ä°stanbul 2nd Juvenile Criminal Court ' which
is hearing the murder trial because the shooter who gunned Dink down
was a minor at the time of the assassination ' has ordered that the
witness be included in a witness protection program, reports said.
Dink was shot dead in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007, by an
ultranationalist teenager outside the offices of his newspaper in
Ä°stanbul.
The Dink murder case is currently under review by the Supreme Court of
Appeals, following an appeal filed by Dink family lawyers.
The local court delivered its controversial ruling in the Dink murder
case on Jan. 17, 2012, acquitting all 19 suspects of charges of
membership in any kind of criminal organization. The court's decision
drew widespread ire in Turkey as people took to the streets to protest
the verdict.
The local court handed down a sentence of life imprisonment for Yasin
Hayal, a prime suspect in the murder of Dink, for inciting murder, and
life without the possibility of parole for Ogün Samast, the hitman.
Erhan Tuncel, another suspect in the case, was acquitted of murder
charges. Tuncel received 10 years, six months for an unrelated bombing
of a McDonald's restaurant in 2004.