Tweet
EYES ON POLICE INTEL CHIEF IN DINK MURDER CASE
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 23 2015
Thousands of protesters gather outside the Agos newspaper to mark
the eighth anniversary of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's
murder in Ä°stanbul on Jan. 19. (Photo: AP)
January 23, 2015, Friday/ 17:07:22/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL
As the investigation further deepens into the 2007 murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, eyes are now on a senior
police official who headed the intelligence department of Trabzon at
the time of the killing after several of his underlings were arrested
on charges of involvement in the murder.
Three police officials working under Engin Dinc in the intelligence
department of the Trabzon Police Department were recently arrested
as part of an expanded probe into the killing of Dink. Dinc has been
promoted since then and is now one of the most senior officials at
the head of police intelligence.
But whether the investigation will be extended to include him as
a suspect remains a question. A news report published in the Taraf
daily on Friday said the top state authorities have agreed not to
allow him to be prosecuted even though testimonies of his associates
point to his involvement as well.
A court overseeing the case postponed the trial to April. 28.
Police officials Ercan Demir, Ozkan Mumcu and Muhittin Zenit have
been arrested as part of the trial.
An Ä°stanbul court arrested former Cizre Police Chief Ercan Demir,
who turned himself in on Monday after an arrest warrant had been
issued against him on Jan. 16.
Trabzon Police Department Assistant Commissioner Mumcu and Zenit were
arrested on Jan. 13 on charges of negligence and misconduct in the
murder of Dink.
Demir's case raised curiosity as he had been appointed as head of
the police department in the restive southeastern town of Cizre only
a couple of weeks before an arrest warrant was issued against him.
Demir had been questioned as a suspect as part of the Dink murder
investigation by prosecutors at the Ä°stanbul Courthouse on Jan. 12,
but a court released him pending trial. Ä°stanbul prosecutors appealed
the court's decision and Ä°stanbul's Criminal Court of Peace issued
an arrest warrant for Demir on Jan. 16 on charges of "negligence in
preventing the murder."
Taraf described the stalemate over Dinc's questioning as a suspect
in the murder case as a crisis reminiscent of a 2012 case, in which
National Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) head Hakan Fidan was summoned
by a prosecutor for questioning as a suspect in an investigation into
the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization that
encompasses the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The prosecutor had been investigating allegations that MÄ°T agents
were active agents within the KCK. But the summoning of Fidan angered
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister at the time, who swiftly
pushed for legal changes that in turn protected Fidan from prosecution.
Taraf said Dinc might be obliged to testify as part of the case given
the fact that the Dink family insists that the investigation include
him as well. In such a case, it said, Dinc may quietly testify to
the prosecutor, likely to be followed by a decision to drop charges
against him.
Dink was shot and killed by an ultra-nationalist teenager. The hit
man, Ogun Samast, and 18 others were brought to trial. Since then,
the lawyers for the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the case have
presented evidence indicating that Samast did not act alone. Another
suspect, Yasin Hayal, was given life in prison for inciting Samast
to commit murder.
The retrial process started in September 2014, when the Ä°stanbul 5th
High Criminal Court complied with a ruling from the Supreme Court of
Appeals in May 2013 overturning the lower court ruling that acquitted
suspects in the Dink murder case of forming a terrorist organization.
This decision paved the way for the trial of public officials on the
charge of voluntary manslaughter.
There were also separate investigations going on, including in
Ä°stanbul and in Trabzon, in relation to Dink's murder, and despite
the Dink family lawyers' demands, they were not merged. Toward the
end of last year, they were finally combined.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_eyes-on-police-intel-chief-in-dink-murder-case_370668.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 23 2015
Thousands of protesters gather outside the Agos newspaper to mark
the eighth anniversary of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's
murder in Ä°stanbul on Jan. 19. (Photo: AP)
January 23, 2015, Friday/ 17:07:22/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL
As the investigation further deepens into the 2007 murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, eyes are now on a senior
police official who headed the intelligence department of Trabzon at
the time of the killing after several of his underlings were arrested
on charges of involvement in the murder.
Three police officials working under Engin Dinc in the intelligence
department of the Trabzon Police Department were recently arrested
as part of an expanded probe into the killing of Dink. Dinc has been
promoted since then and is now one of the most senior officials at
the head of police intelligence.
But whether the investigation will be extended to include him as
a suspect remains a question. A news report published in the Taraf
daily on Friday said the top state authorities have agreed not to
allow him to be prosecuted even though testimonies of his associates
point to his involvement as well.
A court overseeing the case postponed the trial to April. 28.
Police officials Ercan Demir, Ozkan Mumcu and Muhittin Zenit have
been arrested as part of the trial.
An Ä°stanbul court arrested former Cizre Police Chief Ercan Demir,
who turned himself in on Monday after an arrest warrant had been
issued against him on Jan. 16.
Trabzon Police Department Assistant Commissioner Mumcu and Zenit were
arrested on Jan. 13 on charges of negligence and misconduct in the
murder of Dink.
Demir's case raised curiosity as he had been appointed as head of
the police department in the restive southeastern town of Cizre only
a couple of weeks before an arrest warrant was issued against him.
Demir had been questioned as a suspect as part of the Dink murder
investigation by prosecutors at the Ä°stanbul Courthouse on Jan. 12,
but a court released him pending trial. Ä°stanbul prosecutors appealed
the court's decision and Ä°stanbul's Criminal Court of Peace issued
an arrest warrant for Demir on Jan. 16 on charges of "negligence in
preventing the murder."
Taraf described the stalemate over Dinc's questioning as a suspect
in the murder case as a crisis reminiscent of a 2012 case, in which
National Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) head Hakan Fidan was summoned
by a prosecutor for questioning as a suspect in an investigation into
the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization that
encompasses the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The prosecutor had been investigating allegations that MÄ°T agents
were active agents within the KCK. But the summoning of Fidan angered
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister at the time, who swiftly
pushed for legal changes that in turn protected Fidan from prosecution.
Taraf said Dinc might be obliged to testify as part of the case given
the fact that the Dink family insists that the investigation include
him as well. In such a case, it said, Dinc may quietly testify to
the prosecutor, likely to be followed by a decision to drop charges
against him.
Dink was shot and killed by an ultra-nationalist teenager. The hit
man, Ogun Samast, and 18 others were brought to trial. Since then,
the lawyers for the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the case have
presented evidence indicating that Samast did not act alone. Another
suspect, Yasin Hayal, was given life in prison for inciting Samast
to commit murder.
The retrial process started in September 2014, when the Ä°stanbul 5th
High Criminal Court complied with a ruling from the Supreme Court of
Appeals in May 2013 overturning the lower court ruling that acquitted
suspects in the Dink murder case of forming a terrorist organization.
This decision paved the way for the trial of public officials on the
charge of voluntary manslaughter.
There were also separate investigations going on, including in
Ä°stanbul and in Trabzon, in relation to Dink's murder, and despite
the Dink family lawyers' demands, they were not merged. Toward the
end of last year, they were finally combined.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_eyes-on-police-intel-chief-in-dink-murder-case_370668.html