New indictment prepared against Hrant Dink's murderer

ISTANBUL

The chief public prosecutor's office in Istanbul has issued a new indictment against Ogün Samast, the perpetrator of the 2007 murder of Armenian origin journalist Hrant Dink.

Samast, who was released from prison last week after serving 16 years, now faces charges of "committing a crime on behalf of an armed terrorist organization without being a member."

The prosecutor's office has called for Samast to be imprisoned for a term ranging from seven years six months to 12 years.

The prominent journalist and the editor-in-chief of the weekly Agos was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his office 16 years ago by Samast, a then 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout.

The indictment, which includes criminal complaints from an Istanbul high criminal court, points to Samast's statement in 2014 implicating instigators Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel.

The document argues that FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 coup attempt, took control of Istanbul's intelligence branch after Dink's murder.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence proving Samast's FETÖ membership, the indictment suggests his connections with the organization's executives and members. Notably, the contacts reveal that Samast, along with other suspects, acted in line with the interests and objectives of the organization during and after Dink's murder.

A juvenile court in Istanbul will review the indictment, which portrays Samast as a child pushed to crime. If accepted, Samast will once again face the judicial system.

Previously, on July 25, 2011, the same court had sentenced Samast to aggravated life imprisonment for Dink's premeditated murder. The sentence was later reduced to 21 years and six months, considering his age at the time of the crime.

In a related case, another court of first instance sentenced Samast to five years and one month for attacking guards while in prison.

Samast's release has sparked public outrage. The Justice Ministry revealed that Samast was entitled to supervised release in 2022 but opted not to exercise this right.

In response to the controversy surrounding Samast's release, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş commented, "Perhaps we need to make new arrangements regarding our execution system. All these reveal that there are issues that need to be reviewed within our judicial system."