Assets of 12 fugitives in 2007 Dink murder case to be seized

ANKARA

A Turkish court on Thursday decided to seize the assets of 12 fugitive suspects, including ringleader of FETÖ, in the 2007 murder case of a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist unless they return to the country, according to a judicial source.

In its interlocutory decision on the case over the murder of Hrant Dink, the Heavy Penal Court no.14 in Istanbul ordered newspaper advertisements to be prepared for fugitives as well as to be posted to their addresses if there are, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The advertisements will notify the defendants about the seizure of their assets as they will be deemed fugitives if they do not return in 15 days.

The fugitives in question include FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen, former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, Adem Yavuz Arslan, Coşgun Çakar, Halil Ibrahim Koca, Mehmet Akif Yılmaz, Faruk Mercan, Metin Canbay, Ömer Faruk Kartin, Serkan Sahan, Yılmaz Angın, and Yunus Yazar.

All of them are being sought with red notice, the source said.

The decision excluded another fugitive Ekrem Dumanlı as his lawyer wanted to withdraw from the case. The court ordered appointment of a new lawyer for Dumanlı.

Dink, then editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was gunned down outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007.

The Istanbul court announced its verdict on the case on March 26, the defendants of which included former prosecutor Oz, journalists, gendarmerie and former security officers, as well as Gülen of FETÖ, which was behind a 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

A total of 76 defendants, including six in custody and 13 fugitives, were tried as part of the case.

Former police chiefs Ramazan Akyürek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer were handed aggravated life sentences for premeditated murder, while former military officer Muharrem Demirkale was given two-times life sentence for both violating the Constitution and aiding premeditated murder.

Detained defendants Okan Şimşek and Veysal Şahin received over 28 years in prison each for the charges of premeditated murder and forgery of an official document.

The court also sentenced Ercan Gun to a decade in prison for being a member of an armed terrorist organization, namely FETÖ, though he was found not guilty for violating the Constitution.

It also gave prison terms ranging from three years and four months to aggravated life sentences to 26 other defendants.