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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 17 2015
Dink lawyer: Gendarmerie knew about plot 6 months before murder
Hakan BakırcıoÄ?lu represents the family of slain Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink. (Photo: Cihan)
January 16, 2015, Friday/ 14:45:27/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL
Hakan BakırcıoÄ?lu, a lawyer representing the family of slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, has claimed that the Trabzon
Gendarmerie Command had known about the assassination plot against
Dink six months before the murder took place.
The lawyer said the murder took place on Jan. 19, 2007, and the
gendarmerie command was informed in July 2006 that the murder was
going to take place. Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Agos newspaper,
was assassinated in broad daylight outside his office.
BakırcıoÄ?lu also claimed that high-ranking gendarmerie commanders,
such as Ali Ã-z and Metin Yıldız, had known that Yasin Hayal, one of
the prime suspects in the ongoing Dink murder investigation, was
planning to kill Dink.
Dink was shot and killed by an ultra-nationalist teenager. The hitman,
Ogün Samast, and 18 others were brought to trial. Since then, the
lawyers of the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the case have
presented evidence indicating that Samast did not act alone.
In his interview with the Agos newspaper, the family's lawyer also
said that a report prepared at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2007, at the
Trabzon Gendarmerie Command included the exact features of the gun
used by Samast. `However, Samast was captured at 11 p.m. [on Jan. 20,
2007] at the Samsun bus station and the murder weapon was seized at
that time. This means that officials at the Trabzon Gendarmerie
Command had known about the features of the gun even though the gun
had not yet been seized,' he said.
The lawyer said the officials from the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command
also knew that the suspects were determined to commit the murder. He
said they arrived in Ä°stanbul, inspected the road between Dink's home
and his office -- the Agos newspaper building -- and even drew
sketches as to how they could go through with the assassination. He
also said they were trying to obtain a gun to commit the murder.
BakırcıoÄ?lu asked about police chiefs allegedly linked with the Hizmet
movement -- which is inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic
scholar Fethullah Gülen. The chiefs testified to prosecutors as part
of the Dink murder probe. In response to a question on whether the
Dink investigation will be turned into a case used to try the
Hizmet-affiliated police officers, BakırcıoÄ?lu said the prosecutors
must assess the powers and duties of all the related public officials
in the case, as well as their possible role in the murder, in order to
arrive at the truth.
Lawyer: MÄ°T, ex-intel chief did not protect Dink
Emphasizing that Dink was living in Ä°stanbul, BakırcıoÄ?lu said: `His
home and the Agos newspaper were both in Ä°stanbul. He was shot during
the day on one of the most crowded streets of Ä°stanbul. ¦ According to
the Regulations on Protection Services, both the National Intelligence
Organization [MÄ°T] and former Ä°stanbul Police Department Intelligence
Bureau Chief Ahmet Ä°lhan Güler were directly responsible for taking
measures to protect Dink, and it is pretty clear that these
responsibilities were not met.'
He also said the Dink murder was an organized assassination and that
there is collective responsibility that needs to be taken. `A possible
indictment to be prepared should include this [concept of] collective
responsibility. An indictment prepared against one particular group or
only certain officials will be deficient and misleading,' BakırcıoÄ?lu
said.
There has been a recent attempt by some pro-government circles to put
the responsibility for the Dink murder on police officers that they
have labeled as being linked to the Hizmet movement. The movement has
been subjected to a large-scale smear campaign by the government under
claims of it being a `parallel state.' The campaign has been directed
at the movement since Dec. 17, 2013, when a major corruption scandal
implicating high-ranking state officials, including former Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and four former ministers, went public.
The `parallel state' or `parallel structure' is a term used by ErdoÄ?an
to refer to the Hizmet movement, which he says was behind the
corruption scandal.
Former Police Chief Ali Fuat Yılmazer and the former head of the
National Police Department's intelligence unit, Ramazan Akyürek, were
among the police chiefs who testified to prosecutors as part of the
Dink murder probe.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_dink-lawyer-gendarmerie-knew-about-plot-6-months-before-murder_369996.html
Jan 17 2015
Dink lawyer: Gendarmerie knew about plot 6 months before murder
Hakan BakırcıoÄ?lu represents the family of slain Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink. (Photo: Cihan)
January 16, 2015, Friday/ 14:45:27/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL
Hakan BakırcıoÄ?lu, a lawyer representing the family of slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, has claimed that the Trabzon
Gendarmerie Command had known about the assassination plot against
Dink six months before the murder took place.
The lawyer said the murder took place on Jan. 19, 2007, and the
gendarmerie command was informed in July 2006 that the murder was
going to take place. Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Agos newspaper,
was assassinated in broad daylight outside his office.
BakırcıoÄ?lu also claimed that high-ranking gendarmerie commanders,
such as Ali Ã-z and Metin Yıldız, had known that Yasin Hayal, one of
the prime suspects in the ongoing Dink murder investigation, was
planning to kill Dink.
Dink was shot and killed by an ultra-nationalist teenager. The hitman,
Ogün Samast, and 18 others were brought to trial. Since then, the
lawyers of the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the case have
presented evidence indicating that Samast did not act alone.
In his interview with the Agos newspaper, the family's lawyer also
said that a report prepared at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2007, at the
Trabzon Gendarmerie Command included the exact features of the gun
used by Samast. `However, Samast was captured at 11 p.m. [on Jan. 20,
2007] at the Samsun bus station and the murder weapon was seized at
that time. This means that officials at the Trabzon Gendarmerie
Command had known about the features of the gun even though the gun
had not yet been seized,' he said.
The lawyer said the officials from the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command
also knew that the suspects were determined to commit the murder. He
said they arrived in Ä°stanbul, inspected the road between Dink's home
and his office -- the Agos newspaper building -- and even drew
sketches as to how they could go through with the assassination. He
also said they were trying to obtain a gun to commit the murder.
BakırcıoÄ?lu asked about police chiefs allegedly linked with the Hizmet
movement -- which is inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic
scholar Fethullah Gülen. The chiefs testified to prosecutors as part
of the Dink murder probe. In response to a question on whether the
Dink investigation will be turned into a case used to try the
Hizmet-affiliated police officers, BakırcıoÄ?lu said the prosecutors
must assess the powers and duties of all the related public officials
in the case, as well as their possible role in the murder, in order to
arrive at the truth.
Lawyer: MÄ°T, ex-intel chief did not protect Dink
Emphasizing that Dink was living in Ä°stanbul, BakırcıoÄ?lu said: `His
home and the Agos newspaper were both in Ä°stanbul. He was shot during
the day on one of the most crowded streets of Ä°stanbul. ¦ According to
the Regulations on Protection Services, both the National Intelligence
Organization [MÄ°T] and former Ä°stanbul Police Department Intelligence
Bureau Chief Ahmet Ä°lhan Güler were directly responsible for taking
measures to protect Dink, and it is pretty clear that these
responsibilities were not met.'
He also said the Dink murder was an organized assassination and that
there is collective responsibility that needs to be taken. `A possible
indictment to be prepared should include this [concept of] collective
responsibility. An indictment prepared against one particular group or
only certain officials will be deficient and misleading,' BakırcıoÄ?lu
said.
There has been a recent attempt by some pro-government circles to put
the responsibility for the Dink murder on police officers that they
have labeled as being linked to the Hizmet movement. The movement has
been subjected to a large-scale smear campaign by the government under
claims of it being a `parallel state.' The campaign has been directed
at the movement since Dec. 17, 2013, when a major corruption scandal
implicating high-ranking state officials, including former Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and four former ministers, went public.
The `parallel state' or `parallel structure' is a term used by ErdoÄ?an
to refer to the Hizmet movement, which he says was behind the
corruption scandal.
Former Police Chief Ali Fuat Yılmazer and the former head of the
National Police Department's intelligence unit, Ramazan Akyürek, were
among the police chiefs who testified to prosecutors as part of the
Dink murder probe.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_dink-lawyer-gendarmerie-knew-about-plot-6-months-before-murder_369996.html