Ministry to receive recompense from Dink case defendants

ANKARA

The Interior Ministry has emerged victorious in the legal battle against four defendants accused of the murder of Hrant Dink, resulting in a court order to reimburse the ministry with 158,930 Turkish Liras ($5,900) compensation originally paid to the late journalist's brothers.

The four defendants in the case – namely Ogün Samast, Yasin Hayal, Ersin Yolcu and Ahmet İskender – have been ordered to pay the compensation amount along with 13 years of accumulated interest.

The court's justification for ruling in favor of the ministry stemmed from the recognition that it had suffered damage in relation to the case.

The prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his office 16 years ago. The decision came following a series of lawsuits filed against the state by the Dink family following the murder, with the first one coming from the deceased journalist's brothers, Yervant Dink and Hasrof Dink.

The brothers contended that the ministry was negligent in the death of Hrant Dink and demanded a compensation amount of 400,000 liras. However, the court's verdict settled on 158,930 liras to be paid to the Dink brothers by the ministry.

The assassination case saw Ogün Samast, a then 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout, admitting to the killing and receiving a sentence of nearly 23 years in jail in 2011.

Through deeper investigation, Turkish judicial and security authorities discovered a FETÖ connection behind the assassination.

According to an indictment by Istanbul prosecutors, Dink’s assassination constituted an important milestone that sparked a series of events leading to the defeated coup of July 15, 2016.