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Istanbul: Organizational Chart Of Dink Killers Established By Prosec

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  • Istanbul: Organizational Chart Of Dink Killers Established By Prosec

    ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF DINK KILLERS ESTABLISHED BY PROSECUTION

    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-304241-organizational-chart-of-dink-killers-established-by-prosecution.html
    16 January 2013 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL,

    Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was gunned down on Jan. 19,
    2007, in front of the offices of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos,
    where he was editor-in-chief. (Photo: Today's Zaman)

    A prosecutor who is conducting an investigation into the role of
    several security officers in the 2007 assassination of journalist Hrant
    Dink has submitted his understanding of the hierarchical structure
    of the criminal network behind the murder.

    Prosecutor Muammer AkkaÅ~_ has placed every suspect in the Dink trial
    in a hierarchical chart of the organization based on evidence collected
    during the investigation, which is a very important development
    according to Dink family lawyers. The prosecution has also requested
    an intelligence report filed by the National Intelligence Organization
    (MÄ°T) that establishes links between Dink's killers and the Special
    Operations Department, which does not officially exist. It is the
    name of the unit that was later changed to the Mobilization Unit (STK)
    of the Turkish Armed Forces. This report will also be included in the
    indictment as further evidence of the links between the murderers and
    illegal groups within security agencies. The prosecution's findings
    are the results of a two-year investigation.

    Dink, the editor-in-chief of Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, was shot
    by a teenager outside his office in 2007, in what initially appeared
    to be a murder staged due to the young hitman's ultranationalist
    sentiments. However, during the course of the five-year trial, both
    co-plaintiff lawyers and the prosecutor were able to gather evidence
    indicating the role of a larger group, possibly linked to cabals inside
    the military plotting to overthrow the government such as the Ergenekon
    network. Co-plaintiff layers have long complained about attempts at a
    cover-up, as several gendarmerie and police officers are also involved
    in the trial. As if to confirm the suspicions, the court found that the
    hitman had acted alone, a ruling that was recently overturned by the
    Supreme Court of Appeals. The lower court's judge said he knew there
    was an organizational link but accused the prosecution of failing to
    prove it, in a public row between him and the prosecutor.

    MÄ°T's report on the Dink murder was made public last week. It states
    that the Dink murder, the massacre of three Bible publishers in Malatya
    in 2007 and the murder of a Catholic priest in Trabzon in 2006 were
    part of a plot devised and carried out by a group inside the General
    Staff's Special Operations Department. The MÄ°T report is likely to
    shed light on a number of unsolved cases, mostly assassinations in
    2007. The report clearly states that the "planning, implementation
    and management" of the three murders was carried out by the STK.

    Commenting on the prosecutor putting together the chart of the criminal
    organization's makeup, lawyer for the co-plaintiff side in the Dink
    murder trial Bahri Belen said: "It is important that the prosecution
    requests the [MÄ°T] reports. This is completely in line with the
    way we have wanted the Hrant Dink investigation to be perceived all
    along. Everything about the murder should be questioned.

    We can't even dream of having the slightest hope for a democracy
    unless structures such as Special Operations aren't exposed. It was
    clear as day that there is an organizational link the first day of
    the investigation."

    Erdal Dogan, a lawyer for the co-plaintiff side in the Malatya
    missionary murders case, said, "Murders committed by Special Operations
    and the National Strategies and Operations Department of Turkey
    [TUSHAD] should not be ignored."

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