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HRANT DINK MURDER CASE HAS REGRESSED, LAWYER SAYS AHEAD OF RETRIAL
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 13 2013
ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency
The case on Hrant Dink's murder has not advanced but regressed, one
of the lawyers representing the Turkish-Armenian journalist said,
as the retrial is set to start next week.
"We are currently much further behind of the starting point of the
trial," Fethiye Cetin told reporters during a press conference on
Sept. 13, arguing that in the initial trial the indictment already
defined the organization as "terrorist" while in the retrial, this
aspect of the case would be reviewed.
Cetin, who published this month a book about the unknown facts
of the case ("Utanc Duyuyorum: Hrant Dink Cinayetinin Yargısı,"
"I Feel Ashamed: The Judgment of the Hrant Dink Murder") explained
that the Supreme Court had defined the motive of the organization as
"political" rather than "terrorist" in its verdict that led to the
retrial of the case.
The Supreme Court of Appeals had overturned the acquittals of top
suspects, including Yasin Hayal, who was charged with being the
instigator of the assassination and the "leader of a terrorist
organization." Hayal and other suspects such as Erhan Tuncel and
Ersin Yolcu will also be retried.
"According to the Supreme Court, this organization was established
in 2004 by Yasin Hayal. It comprises Erhan Tuncel, Ersin Yolcu,
Ahmet İskender and Ogun Samast, whom they use as the triggerman of
the murder. [...] However it is defined as only established with a
political motive, to punish Hrant Dink," Cetin said. For a murder to
be considered a "terrorist act," it would have to be committed with
a clear aim against the state of the public order, according to the
Turkish Penal Code.
"The Supreme Court has made a mistake in its definition of the
nature and the aim of the organization," Cetin said, adding that
it could take the court many years of trial to rule on the "terror
organization" aspect.
Dink, the renowned editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot in front of his
office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.
Following the convictions of Samast and Hayal for the murder, a high
criminal court had dismissed charges related to "armed terrorist
organization." Later, the Supreme Court verdict defined the acts of
all suspects in the case under "an organization formed to commit crime"
according to the Turkish Penal Code's Article 220.
Cetin argues in her book that the killing order was given by the
Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) via an encrypted
message.
September/13/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hrant-dink-murder-case-has-regressed-lawyer-says-ahead-of-retrial.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54435&NewsCatID=339
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 13 2013
ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency
The case on Hrant Dink's murder has not advanced but regressed, one
of the lawyers representing the Turkish-Armenian journalist said,
as the retrial is set to start next week.
"We are currently much further behind of the starting point of the
trial," Fethiye Cetin told reporters during a press conference on
Sept. 13, arguing that in the initial trial the indictment already
defined the organization as "terrorist" while in the retrial, this
aspect of the case would be reviewed.
Cetin, who published this month a book about the unknown facts
of the case ("Utanc Duyuyorum: Hrant Dink Cinayetinin Yargısı,"
"I Feel Ashamed: The Judgment of the Hrant Dink Murder") explained
that the Supreme Court had defined the motive of the organization as
"political" rather than "terrorist" in its verdict that led to the
retrial of the case.
The Supreme Court of Appeals had overturned the acquittals of top
suspects, including Yasin Hayal, who was charged with being the
instigator of the assassination and the "leader of a terrorist
organization." Hayal and other suspects such as Erhan Tuncel and
Ersin Yolcu will also be retried.
"According to the Supreme Court, this organization was established
in 2004 by Yasin Hayal. It comprises Erhan Tuncel, Ersin Yolcu,
Ahmet İskender and Ogun Samast, whom they use as the triggerman of
the murder. [...] However it is defined as only established with a
political motive, to punish Hrant Dink," Cetin said. For a murder to
be considered a "terrorist act," it would have to be committed with
a clear aim against the state of the public order, according to the
Turkish Penal Code.
"The Supreme Court has made a mistake in its definition of the
nature and the aim of the organization," Cetin said, adding that
it could take the court many years of trial to rule on the "terror
organization" aspect.
Dink, the renowned editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot in front of his
office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.
Following the convictions of Samast and Hayal for the murder, a high
criminal court had dismissed charges related to "armed terrorist
organization." Later, the Supreme Court verdict defined the acts of
all suspects in the case under "an organization formed to commit crime"
according to the Turkish Penal Code's Article 220.
Cetin argues in her book that the killing order was given by the
Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) via an encrypted
message.
September/13/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hrant-dink-murder-case-has-regressed-lawyer-says-ahead-of-retrial.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54435&NewsCatID=339