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TWO SUSPECTS IN DINK TRIAL SENT TO COURT FOLLOWING ARREST ORDER
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 7 2014
7 January 2014 /İSTANBUL, TODAY'S ZAMAN
A court ordered the arrest of two suspects in the trial of the murder
of Hrant Dink -- the late editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian
weekly Agos who was shot dead in 2007 by an ultranationalist teenager
outside the offices of his newspaper in İstanbul -- following their
absence from a hearing held on Tuesday and two suspects, Zeynel Abidin
Yavuz and Osman Hayal have been found and arrested in Trabzon province.
Following the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversing the ruling handed
down in Dink trial in which 18 suspects are being tried, the İstanbul
14th High Criminal Court resumed hearing the case. When two defendants,
Osman Hayal and Zeynel Abidin Yavuz, failed to show up for the hearing,
the court ordered their arrest. Yavuz and Hayal were detained in
Trabzon and sent to court shortly after their arrest was ordered.
The Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that
dismissed the existence of an organized criminal network in the case.
The lower court, which found no evidence that a terrorist organization
was involved in the Jan. 19, 2007 assassination of Dink by teenager
Ogun Samast, had acquitted the suspects of forming a terrorist
organization, but it said they were guilty of forming an illegal
and armed organization to commit a crime as prohibited under Turkish
Penal Code (TCK) Article 220.
The lawyer for the Dink family had previously argued that an
ultranationalist organization was established in 2004 by Yasin Hayal
consisting of several people including Dink case suspect Erhan Tuncel,
and this group's anger at Dink, who was put on trial after being
accused of "insulting Turkishness," led them to plot to punish him.
Sixteen out of 18 suspects have been released pending trial and
two of the suspects incarcerated. One of the two prisoners, Tuncel,
arrested by the court in October, has complained about his lengthy
detention period and requested his release.
The lawyer of Tuncel, noting that his defendant is not to be blamed
for the extended trial period, on Tuesday said: "The decision on
whether to obey to the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversal of the
ruling has not been reached yet. My client was arrested though his
acquittal was ordered once. If the court which is currently hearing
the case abides by the [overturning of the lower court's] decision
[to acquit] by the Supreme Court of Appeals, and so it seems it will,
the longest the trial can last will be five years. The prolonging of
the trial should not result in my client's unjust treatment. He was
released for two years and didn't make any attempt to escape."
Dink's family lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, stated that the trial needed to be
"restructured."
Cetin, highlighting the significance of the ongoing graft operation
that has been occupying Turkey's agenda since it broke on Dec. 17,
said: "What this country has been going through in a way confirms what
we have constantly said since the beginning. Some state officials
are allegedly fabricating evidence. Taking that into consideration,
all of our demands should be fulfilled again and the file has to
be re-assessed."
Dink's friends and family gathered in front of the courthouse on
Tuesday to protest against the seven-year failure to bring the trial
to a conclusion.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-336031-two-suspects-in-dink-trial-sent-to-court-following-arrest-order.html
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 7 2014
7 January 2014 /İSTANBUL, TODAY'S ZAMAN
A court ordered the arrest of two suspects in the trial of the murder
of Hrant Dink -- the late editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian
weekly Agos who was shot dead in 2007 by an ultranationalist teenager
outside the offices of his newspaper in İstanbul -- following their
absence from a hearing held on Tuesday and two suspects, Zeynel Abidin
Yavuz and Osman Hayal have been found and arrested in Trabzon province.
Following the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversing the ruling handed
down in Dink trial in which 18 suspects are being tried, the İstanbul
14th High Criminal Court resumed hearing the case. When two defendants,
Osman Hayal and Zeynel Abidin Yavuz, failed to show up for the hearing,
the court ordered their arrest. Yavuz and Hayal were detained in
Trabzon and sent to court shortly after their arrest was ordered.
The Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that
dismissed the existence of an organized criminal network in the case.
The lower court, which found no evidence that a terrorist organization
was involved in the Jan. 19, 2007 assassination of Dink by teenager
Ogun Samast, had acquitted the suspects of forming a terrorist
organization, but it said they were guilty of forming an illegal
and armed organization to commit a crime as prohibited under Turkish
Penal Code (TCK) Article 220.
The lawyer for the Dink family had previously argued that an
ultranationalist organization was established in 2004 by Yasin Hayal
consisting of several people including Dink case suspect Erhan Tuncel,
and this group's anger at Dink, who was put on trial after being
accused of "insulting Turkishness," led them to plot to punish him.
Sixteen out of 18 suspects have been released pending trial and
two of the suspects incarcerated. One of the two prisoners, Tuncel,
arrested by the court in October, has complained about his lengthy
detention period and requested his release.
The lawyer of Tuncel, noting that his defendant is not to be blamed
for the extended trial period, on Tuesday said: "The decision on
whether to obey to the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversal of the
ruling has not been reached yet. My client was arrested though his
acquittal was ordered once. If the court which is currently hearing
the case abides by the [overturning of the lower court's] decision
[to acquit] by the Supreme Court of Appeals, and so it seems it will,
the longest the trial can last will be five years. The prolonging of
the trial should not result in my client's unjust treatment. He was
released for two years and didn't make any attempt to escape."
Dink's family lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, stated that the trial needed to be
"restructured."
Cetin, highlighting the significance of the ongoing graft operation
that has been occupying Turkey's agenda since it broke on Dec. 17,
said: "What this country has been going through in a way confirms what
we have constantly said since the beginning. Some state officials
are allegedly fabricating evidence. Taking that into consideration,
all of our demands should be fulfilled again and the file has to
be re-assessed."
Dink's friends and family gathered in front of the courthouse on
Tuesday to protest against the seven-year failure to bring the trial
to a conclusion.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-336031-two-suspects-in-dink-trial-sent-to-court-following-arrest-order.html
From: Baghdasarian