Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 22 2008
Ocaktan: Course of Dink murder trial may change
A confirmation by two soldiers of an earlier testimony by a witness
that they had been clearly warned about a plot to assassinate ethnic
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink might change the course of the Dink
trial, according to a member of Parliament’s Human Rights Commission.
Sgt. Maj. Okan S. and Special Sgt. Veysel Þahin appeared in a
Trabzon court on Thursday on charges of dereliction of duty by
failing to take the necessary measures to prevent the murder of Dink,
gunned down outside his office in early 2007. They testified for the
first time at the hearing, corroborating the earlier testimony of
witness Coþkun Ýðci, the ex-husband of a relative of one of the prime
suspects in the Dink murder, that they had previous knowledge of the
plot.
They also said they had informed their superior, Trabzon Provincial
Gendarmerie Commander Col. Ali Öz. The two suspects testified that
they had previously given false statements during the course of the
investigation after being pressured to do so by Öz.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman about the testimony, Human Rights
Commission member and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Bursa
deputy Mehmet Ocaktan said: `We have investigated whether there was
any neglect or failure to act on the part of the senior officials in
this murder. We received a lot criticism for not listening to the two
gendarmes; however, our authority was limited. We made a decision not
to listen to people who were charged by the court; those individuals
would already be questioned in court, so we did not include them in
the scope of our investigation. We also were careful not to talk
about the involved subjects as the judicial process was still in
progress.’
Ocaktan pointed out that the soldiers’ confession of having been
informed about plans to kill Dink may change the course of the murder
trial. `This has been a total surprise for us. To be frank, we did
not expect these gendarmes to make such a deposition. It seems that
the gendarmerie acted more negligently than the police [in not
preventing this murder]. This may change the course of the Dink
trial. From now on, people will want to know if there are other facts
that need be uncovered in this murder,’ he stated.
22.03.2008
ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA