Lawyers of the Family of Killed Journalist Dink Sue Deputy Governor

The lawyers of the family of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink filed a criminal complaint against Istanbul Deputy Governor Mustafa Güran because he refused to hand them a copy of attachments of the report regarding the murder. Dink, then editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos newspaper, was shot in front of his office in Istanbul on 19 January 2007.

Joint attorney Fethiye Çetin said that they applied to the Istanbul Public Chief Prosecution for an investigation related to allegations of "misconduct in office" and that they requested to launch a trial.

The coming hearing in the murder case will be held on 10 May. On the same day, the "Friends of Hrant" will come together once more at the Beşiktaş Pier in Istanbul to call for justice.

The Hrant Dink Murder Monitoring Group held a press conference in Istanbul's popular district of Cihangir yesterday (5 May) and informed journalists about the latest developments of the case.

Full access to preliminary investigation report denied

Rakel Dink, the widow of killed journalist Hrant Dink, indicated on 25 April 2007 that the investigation into the murder lacked directions and was insufficient. She had urged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to appoint the Prime Ministry Inspection Board for an efficient investigation into the murder, including preliminary events leading up to the incident, planning and the time after the murder. Dink had demanded in particular to extend the investigation and include the Police, the National Intelligence Agency (MIT), gendarmerie officials, the Great Union Party and its youth organization.

Thereupon, the appointed inspectors had prepared a preliminary investigation report by 10 October 2008.

Since the report revealed allegations of 'negligence', Prime Minister Erdoğan gave his approval for the inspectors of the Ministry of the Interior to launch an investigation into 19 police officers, among them President of the Police Intelligence Department Ramazan Akyürek.

The Dink family lawyers applied to the Istanbul Governorship in order to obtain a copy of the attachments of the report. However, the request was dismissed by Istanbul Deputy Governor Güran two days later.

The lawyers stated that they have the right to be informed about the contents of the file they have been denied access to and that a disadvantageous situation has been created for them regarding a fair trial and a complete and efficient investigation. They furthermore put forward that their right to present complete and accurate claims and objections was restricted.

"Former Head of Intelligence Department can be heard as witness"

Lawyer Çetin indicated that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) merged the five different cases being tried separately in Turkey into one joint case. She said that in respect to the latest developments and the new evidence the case should be investigated again. Former Head of Intelligence Department Sabri Uzun could be heard as a witness and with the issued permit decision a new investigation can be launched into former Istanbul Chief of Police Celalettin Cerrah and Intelligence Branch Deputy Manager Bülent Köksal.

Footage of the murder can be restored

The Police apparently stated that the disk that contained footage of the murder could not be restored. Çetin however explained that there are ways to save the records on the disc, "An institution in the US said that they are able to restore the destroyed data on the disc. Additionally, we sent the footage to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK)". (BT/TK/VK)