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TURKISH CONSTITUTIONAL COURT URGES INVESTIGATION OF CIVIL SERVANTS FOR DINK MURDER
10:16, 13 Nov 2014
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/11/13/turkish-constitutional-court-urges-investigation-of-civil-servants-for-dink-murder/
Civil servants and institutions allegedly implicated in the murder of
the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink should be investigated, the
Constitutional Court stated in its detailed ruling on the case on Nov.
12, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The top Turkish court said the case was not probed efficiently and
the victim's rights were violated, in a ruling issued last July.
In its detailed ruling, the Court insisted that civil servants should
not be spared from the investigation, a thorny issue that has long
been one of the backbones of Dink's lawyers' criticism regarding the
judicial process.
The court stressed that "despite a long time having passed since the
murder, civil servants who allegedly committed negligence regarding the
incident and whose identities were revealed have not been interrogated
and there responsibility regarding the incident was not determined."
The ruling added that because of this, it should be accepted that the
investigation was not conducted with a "reasonable care and speed,
therefore was inefficient."
The detailed ruling comes only three weeks after nine key civil
servants, including the former police chief of Istanbul, were
authorized for investigation by the Justice Ministry almost eight
years after the murder.
The move may shed light on many aspects of the murder that remain
unknown. Dink had been called to a police department and warned
about a possible plot against him, and it is therefore thought that
the murder was known about within some state institutions before it
happened. Up to now, the investigation has failed to focus on the
links between suspects and state officials.
"In this kind of cases, the conditions in which the incident took
place and flaws in the monitoring system should be tackled first.
Secondly, an ex officio investigation should be launched to determine
the institutions and civil servants that were responsible," the
detailed ruling stated.
Dink was shot dead by Ogun Samast in broad daylight on a busy street
outside the offices of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos,
in central Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007. The assassination caused outrage
across the country, sending hundreds of the thousands to the streets
in mass rallies.
Samast was sentenced to over 22 years in jail for the murder, but
lawyers representing the Dink family have repeatedly expressed their
dismay over the lack of investigation regarding individuals or groups
who allegedly commissioned the murder.
After a long battle, former Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah,
former Istanbul Deputy Governor Ergun Gungör, former Istanbul Police
Department Intelligence Head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler and six other officials
are set to testify at court.
From: A. Papazian
10:16, 13 Nov 2014
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/11/13/turkish-constitutional-court-urges-investigation-of-civil-servants-for-dink-murder/
Civil servants and institutions allegedly implicated in the murder of
the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink should be investigated, the
Constitutional Court stated in its detailed ruling on the case on Nov.
12, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The top Turkish court said the case was not probed efficiently and
the victim's rights were violated, in a ruling issued last July.
In its detailed ruling, the Court insisted that civil servants should
not be spared from the investigation, a thorny issue that has long
been one of the backbones of Dink's lawyers' criticism regarding the
judicial process.
The court stressed that "despite a long time having passed since the
murder, civil servants who allegedly committed negligence regarding the
incident and whose identities were revealed have not been interrogated
and there responsibility regarding the incident was not determined."
The ruling added that because of this, it should be accepted that the
investigation was not conducted with a "reasonable care and speed,
therefore was inefficient."
The detailed ruling comes only three weeks after nine key civil
servants, including the former police chief of Istanbul, were
authorized for investigation by the Justice Ministry almost eight
years after the murder.
The move may shed light on many aspects of the murder that remain
unknown. Dink had been called to a police department and warned
about a possible plot against him, and it is therefore thought that
the murder was known about within some state institutions before it
happened. Up to now, the investigation has failed to focus on the
links between suspects and state officials.
"In this kind of cases, the conditions in which the incident took
place and flaws in the monitoring system should be tackled first.
Secondly, an ex officio investigation should be launched to determine
the institutions and civil servants that were responsible," the
detailed ruling stated.
Dink was shot dead by Ogun Samast in broad daylight on a busy street
outside the offices of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos,
in central Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007. The assassination caused outrage
across the country, sending hundreds of the thousands to the streets
in mass rallies.
Samast was sentenced to over 22 years in jail for the murder, but
lawyers representing the Dink family have repeatedly expressed their
dismay over the lack of investigation regarding individuals or groups
who allegedly commissioned the murder.
After a long battle, former Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah,
former Istanbul Deputy Governor Ergun Gungör, former Istanbul Police
Department Intelligence Head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler and six other officials
are set to testify at court.
From: A. Papazian