SUSPECTS IN HRANT DINK MURDER CASE RELEASED TWO DAYS AFTER ARREST
Thursday, January 9th, 2014
A poster bearing a picture of Hrant Dink is pictured in front of an
Istanbul counrthouse. Dec. 3, 2013. (Photo: AFP)
TRABZON, Turkey–Two suspects in the murder case of renowned
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who were arrested in Trabzon
on Tuesday, were released on Thursday, Jan. 9, after interrogation.
Zeynel Abidin Yavuz and Osman Hayal were considered key suspects,
and arrest orders for them were issued after they failed to attend
an initial hearing.
Yavuz is suspected of having been the first triggerman chosen to murder
Dink while Hayal’s brother, Yasin Hayal, has been charged with being
the instigator of the assassination.
The Supreme Court of Appeals had overturned the acquittals of top
suspects, including Yasin Hayal. Hayal and other 18 suspects, including
Erhan Tuncel and Ersin Yolcu, are set to stand again in the retrial,
which resumed on Sept. 17, 2013.
The sudden release of the suspects shortly after their arrest comes
10 days ahead of the 7th anniversary of Dink’s murder.
The renowned editor-in-chief of Agos, which has been the voice of the
small Armenian community in Istanbul for several decades, was shot
dead by Ogun Samast in front of his office in Istanbul on Jan. 19,
2007. Samast was sentenced to over 22 years in jail for the murder.
Lawyers representing the Dink family have repeatedly expressed their
dismay over the way the investigations and the trial were conducted.
One of the lawyers, Fethiye Cetin, said last September that the current
stage was “far behind the starting point,” as the indictment of the
retrial will review whether a “terrorist organization” plotted the
murder, a point that was simply assumed in the first trial.
Cetin argued in a recently published book that the order to kill
was given by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T)
via an encrypted message.
The self-named group “Friends of Dink,” which is made up of
journalists, relatives, friends and activists, also accuse the state
of being responsible for the murder.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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