“High” Trabzon Negligence in Dink’s Murder

The authorities started taking statements of those officials who were serving within the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command Post at the time of Dink’s murder, the founder of Agos, an Armenian-Turkish weekly, or were assigned to other provinces after the incident.

During their depositions at the 2^nd Criminal Court of Peace of Trabzon on March 20, chief master sergeant Okan Şimşek and master sergeant Veysel Şahin had told that they had received the information that Dink was going to be murdered from Coşkun İğci and conveyed it to the Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Öz. Coşkun İğci, Yasin Hayal’s brother-in-law, who is on trial as one of the instigators of the murder, was the gendarme informant at the time.

Petty officer Chief master Sergeant Gökhan Aslan, who is stationed at Bitlis Gendarmerie Command Post and Master Sergeant Uğur Erdoğan confirmed the previous statements by Şimşek and Şahin. Ergin Cinmen and Hakan Bakırcıoğlu, the lawyers for the Dink family, were statement at the depositions. Their statements were taken separately

Chief Master Sergeant Uğur Erdoğan gave his statement at Iğdır in eastern Turkey

Chief Master Sergeant Uğur Erdoğan, who is stationed at Iğdır Gendarmerie Command Post now, gave his statement at Iğdır Criminal Court of Peace on May 28, who was stationed at the Intelligence Branch Directorate of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command Post at the time of the murder.

He said that he saw the accused petty officers Şimşek and Şahin collecting information about the newspaper Agos and Hrant Dink from the internet, and heard them saying that there really was a Hrant Dink and a newspaper named Agos.

Chief Master Sergeant Aslan’s statement was taken in Bitlis in southeastern Turkey

Chief Master Sergeant Gökhan Aslan, who is stationed at Bitlis Gendarmerie Command Post at the moment, gave his statement at Bitlis Criminal Court of Peace on May 27.

Aslan, who was stationed at Trabzon at the time of the murder, said that while they were having a conversation with each other a few days after the murder, the accused petty officers had mentioned that they had received the information that Hrant Dink was going to be murdered before the actual murder and that they had conveyed this information to their superiors.

Önder Aras and Metin Yıldız will give their statements

Önder Aras will give his statement at Çorum Criminal Court of Peace on June 4 and Metin Yıldız will at Bolu Criminal Court of Peace on June 9. Both places are within the Black Sea region of Turkey.

Trabzon 2^nd Criminal Court of Peace had asked on March 20 for the information regarding where the following names were stationed and called for their statements:   Ali Öz, Hüseyin Yılmaz, Metin Yıldız, Ali Oğuz Çağlar, Hüsamettin Polat, Gazi Günay, Gökhan Aslan, Hacı Ömer Ünalır, Uğur Erdoğan ve Önder Aras. (EÖ/EZÖ/TB)