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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."
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."