TRIAL STARTS: COURT ORDERS DEEPER PROBE, FOUR DEFENDANTS RELEASED, HEARINGS TO RESUME OCTOBER 1
New Anatolian, Turkey
Hayati Ozcan – The New Anatolian / Istanbul
July 7 2007
All eyes were on Turkey on Monday as a heavy penal code in Istanbul
started hearing the assassination case of journalist Hirant Dink who
was gunned down in broad daylight on Jan.19 by Ogun Samast, a 17 year
old ultranationalist teenager.
International critics and Turkish intellectuals say the trial will
have a meaning if it can reveal the involvement of the so-called
"deep state" and how ultranationalists have been mobilized to silence
liberals in Turkey.
The security forces are already under fire for negligence and there
are even claims that some policemen may have cooperated with the
assassin and his gang.
It is now clear that a gang led by a convicted ultranationalist Yasin
Hayal plotted the assassination but it is not clear whether it has
any links with the security forces.
On July 3 the Turkish Security Department sent a letter to the court
hearing the case saying Hayal set up a gang to kill the victim. The
Security Department said the gang was not a terrorist group but it
was set up by Hayal to commit a crime.
The department said Hayal threw the bomb at the McDonald on Oct. 24,
2004 and served a prison term. He left prison on May 13, 2005 and
then decided to set up a gang to kill Dink. Hayal was regarded as the
leader and gave orders to all the members of the gang, the department
told the court.
The court also asked the department if Erhan Tuncel, another jailed
suspect who is regarded as a kep person in the gang was a police
informant. The department said Tuncel was used as a source of
information by the police between Nov. 17, 2004 and Nov.23, 2006.
"After this date the police did not contact him," the department said.
Tuncel has claimed he was framed and that he in fact informed the
police of the preparations for the assassination but the police did
not act to stop it.
The government vowed a thorough investigation, and the governor and
police chief of the Black Sea city of Trabzon, the hometown of Samast,
were removed from office because of negligence. Some security officials
who posed for photographs with the gunman as he held a Turkish flag
were also dismissed.
There has been no evidence that directly implicates any police
or government official in the slaying of Dink outside his office,
however, many Turks are convinced that a so-called "deep state" –
a network of state agents or ex-officials, possibly with links to
organized crime – periodically targets reformists and other perceived
enemies in the name of nationalism.
Dink, who was of Armenian descent and the editor and owner of the
Argos newspaper, sought to encourage reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia. But he was prosecuted under Article 301 of Turkey’s penal
code, which bans insults to Turkish identity, for his comments on
the alleged mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the early
20th century.
One of the main criticisms leveled against the trial is that the
investigations into the case have been superficial and inadequate.
The penal court hearing the case on July 2 ruled to widen the probe.
It also ordered the release of four defendants.
That left 8 out of 18 suspects in jail. The next hearing was scheduled
for October 1.
The trial which lasted 12 hours took place behind closed doors because
the gunman, Ogun Samast, is a minor.
Lawyer Bahri Belen, representing Dink’s family, told reporters that
the court agreed to broaden the investigation.
Two of the key suspects, Hayal and Tuncel, claimed they worked for
the security forces. The alleged gunman had remained silent during
the trial.
Tuncel, who is suspected of masterminding the killing, reportedly
told the court that he was paid by police for gathering intelligence,
according to a lawyer who attended the hearing.
The court decided to ask police to provide a list of Tuncel’s
telephone calls.
Hayal’s lawyer Fuat Turgut said that his client and the gunman were
"manipulated by certain forces because of their patriotic feelings."
Observers say Dink’s writings on the Armenian genocide had made him
a target for both the Turkish government and ultranationalist groups.
His assassination sparked something remarkable in the Turkish
public: Thousands gathered to express solidarity with the Armenian
minority and outrage against restrictions on free speech and growing
ultranationalist sentiment.
Observers said for a fleeting second, the government seemed dedicated
to real reform and perhaps even the eventual abolishment of Article
301 of the penal code , which was used to try to silence Dink and
other famed writers such as Orhan Pamuk and Elif Safak for allegedly
"insulting Turkishness." But now any changes in Article 301 have been
postponed until after the July 22 elections and critics doubt if any
new government will be enthusiastic to act on it.
Human Rights Watch warned recently that evidence presented at the
trial may raise questions about possible collusion or negligence on
the part of security forces. The real test for the Turkish judiciary
will be if it can adequately prosecute all those involved-even if
this means lifting the huge rock off some dirty internal dealings.
Fethiye Cetin, the Dink family’s lawyer, expressed her concern: "The
gang does not consist of these suspects only," Cetin said of the 18
defendants. "It is far more planned and organized. There is almost an
intentional misconduct of the gendarmerie and police in this incident."
Observers say ensuring that all those involved in Dink’s murder are
exposed and punished is essential not just for his family, but for
Turkey as a country. They say Brussels will be following this case
closely. After all, the last thing Turkey needs is another excuse
for Europe to slam the door shut on Turkish membership.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress