Court should request Dink murder documents from military: Turkish intelligence

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

Turkey’s national intelligence agency (MİT) has referred a court to the country’s top military body to learn whether intelligence documents related to the Hrant Dink murder were classified as a state secret.

Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was shot dead by then-17-year-old Ogün Samast in front of his Istanbul office on Jan. 19, 2007. Samast, who was sentenced to over 22 years in jail for the murder, is also on trial for being a member of a terrorist organization, as the alleged network behind the crime is yet to be revealed.

The latest trial session was held at the Istanbul 2nd Heavy Penal Court for Children on Oct. 17. The jailed Samast was not present in the courtroom and was represented by his lawyer.

The court had earlier twice asked the MİT about the “top-secret” and “secret” documents that the spy agency had sent to Parliament’s Coup Research Commission. The MİT did not give a clear answer whether the documents constitute a state secret, only stressing that they included “claims.”

The MİT answered the question more directly in the Oct. 17 session. “It would be appropriate to ask the General Staff whether the requested information was state secrets or not,” it said.

The Dink family’s lawyer, meanwhile, said the documents should be released. “The documents that the MİT sent to Parliament should be given to us too,” lawyer Hakan Bakırcıoğlu said.