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DINK'S MURDER 'NOT EFFICIENTLY PROBED'
Thursday, July 17th, 2014
http://asbarez.com/125052/dink%E2%80%99s-murder-%E2%80%98not-efficiently-probed%E2%80%99/
A poster bearing a picture of Hrant Dink and a Turkish flag are
pictured in front of an Istanbul court
ANKARA--Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled that the murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was not efficiently probed
and the rights of his family were therefore violated.
The unanimous verdict came after an individual application to the
Court from Hrant Dink's family, Anadolu Agency reported. The family had
applied to the court on the grounds that they had not been adequately
informed about the investigation and that the probe was neglected.
The ruling came just days after an Istanbul court opened the path
for the investigation of key officials regarding Dink's murder on
accusations of either intent or negligence. The Istanbul court lifted a
previous decision that ruled there was no need for sanctions against
the former deputy governor of Istanbul, Ergun Gungör, Istanbul
Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah, former Istanbul Police Department
Intelligence Head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler and six police officers regarding
the 2007 assassination.
The local court recommended an investigation into nine officials
following a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decision. A lawyer
for the Dink family, Hasan Bakırcıoglu, confirmed that it was now
legally possible for a probe against Gungör, Cerrah, Guler and the
six police officers.
Dink, the highly esteemed former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, was
murdered in broad daylight in front of his newspaper's building on
Jan. 19, 2007, by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist. The triggerman,
Ogun Samast, was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to
22 years and 10 months of prison after a two year-trial, but lawyers
representing the Dink family have repeatedly expressed their dismay
over the way the investigations and the trial were conducted.
His assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey and grew into a
wider scandal after it emerged that the security forces knew of a
plot to kill Dink, but failed to act.
Backing up widespread accusations of a state conspiracy, another key
figure in the trial, Erhan Tuncel, claimed in December 2013 that he had
informed the police of the plan, but that his warnings went unheeded.
There have been suggestions that the killing was a result of "deep
state" work, but the court said there was no organization behind the
murder. According to reports, Dink was called to a police department
and "warned" about the plot against him, fueling belief that the
murder was known by some institutions within the state beforehand.
The top court's decision came as an Istanbul court has once again
postponed the hearing of the case, despite Dink's lawyer's calling
for an urgent and just verdict.
The hearing was postponed from July 17 to Oct. 30 on the absence of
Ahmet Ä°skender, one of the main suspects in the case, and the other
18 suspects who did not appear at the hearing.
Thursday, July 17th, 2014
http://asbarez.com/125052/dink%E2%80%99s-murder-%E2%80%98not-efficiently-probed%E2%80%99/
A poster bearing a picture of Hrant Dink and a Turkish flag are
pictured in front of an Istanbul court
ANKARA--Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled that the murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was not efficiently probed
and the rights of his family were therefore violated.
The unanimous verdict came after an individual application to the
Court from Hrant Dink's family, Anadolu Agency reported. The family had
applied to the court on the grounds that they had not been adequately
informed about the investigation and that the probe was neglected.
The ruling came just days after an Istanbul court opened the path
for the investigation of key officials regarding Dink's murder on
accusations of either intent or negligence. The Istanbul court lifted a
previous decision that ruled there was no need for sanctions against
the former deputy governor of Istanbul, Ergun Gungör, Istanbul
Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah, former Istanbul Police Department
Intelligence Head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler and six police officers regarding
the 2007 assassination.
The local court recommended an investigation into nine officials
following a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decision. A lawyer
for the Dink family, Hasan Bakırcıoglu, confirmed that it was now
legally possible for a probe against Gungör, Cerrah, Guler and the
six police officers.
Dink, the highly esteemed former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, was
murdered in broad daylight in front of his newspaper's building on
Jan. 19, 2007, by a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist. The triggerman,
Ogun Samast, was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to
22 years and 10 months of prison after a two year-trial, but lawyers
representing the Dink family have repeatedly expressed their dismay
over the way the investigations and the trial were conducted.
His assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey and grew into a
wider scandal after it emerged that the security forces knew of a
plot to kill Dink, but failed to act.
Backing up widespread accusations of a state conspiracy, another key
figure in the trial, Erhan Tuncel, claimed in December 2013 that he had
informed the police of the plan, but that his warnings went unheeded.
There have been suggestions that the killing was a result of "deep
state" work, but the court said there was no organization behind the
murder. According to reports, Dink was called to a police department
and "warned" about the plot against him, fueling belief that the
murder was known by some institutions within the state beforehand.
The top court's decision came as an Istanbul court has once again
postponed the hearing of the case, despite Dink's lawyer's calling
for an urgent and just verdict.
The hearing was postponed from July 17 to Oct. 30 on the absence of
Ahmet Ä°skender, one of the main suspects in the case, and the other
18 suspects who did not appear at the hearing.