Armenian-Turkish journalist Dink's verdict goes to Court of Appeals
ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency
Armenian- Turkish journalist Hrant Dink was murdered in 2007 in Istanbul. Hürriyet photo
The court verdict in the case of the murder of Hrant Dink was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeals yesterday.The triggerman, Ogün Samast, was sentenced to 22 years in prison last year for the murder of Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin. The instigator, Yasin Hayal, was sentenced on Jan. 17 to aggravated life imprisonment, while former police informant and suspect Erhan Tuncel was released, prompting widespread anger.
In its ruling, the court argued that there was not enough evidence indicating the existence of an organization behind the crime, despite lingering doubts.
Prosecutor’s ruling
A prosecutor then appealed the ruling in the trial on March 30, arguing that the crime was an organized hit.“The suspects acted as a cell in Trabzon with the same aims as the Ergenekon crime gang,” the prosecutor said in his 30 page appeal against the January court ruling, adding that the suspects should be punished for committing an organized act of crime.
“If the court accepts the existence of an organization behind the crime but lacks the evidence, it should have asked the prosecutor’s office for further investigation into the issue,” the prosecutor said in his appeal. The higher court of appeals is now going to decide how to proceed with the court’s verdict.
Dink was the chief editor for weekly Agos, a newspaper published in Turkish and Armenian. He was shot dead in front of his office on Jan. 19, 2007 in Istanbul.
