Social Memory Platform Supports Journalist Göktaş at Court

The Istanbul 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance continued the case against Vatan newspaper reporter Kemal Göktaş on 11 May. Göktaş stands trial on the grounds of his book "The Hrant Dink Murder: Media, Judiciary, State" related to the background of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in January 2007. The case was postponed to June in order to wait for the statement of complainant Ramazan Akyürek, Head of the Intelligence Department, to be sent from Ankara to Istanbul.

Journalist Göktaş is facing imprisonment of up to five years. He attended the hearing together with his lawyer Filiz Aydın.

Statement has not been sent yet, trial postponed

The court president declared that Akyürek's statement given in Ankara has not been sent to the Istanbul court yet. Thereupon, the trial was postponed to 23 June. Akyürek filed the criminal complaint together with the Police General Directorate.

Lawyer Aydin claimed to drop the case by prescription. She explained that the case was opened on 30 September 2009 even though the prescription period of four months ran out on 24 August 2009.

Göktaş is tried on the grounds of publishing an F4 document in his book which was sent from the Trabzon Police Directorate to the Istanbul Intelligence Branch Directorate, concerned with Yasin Hayal being up to "an influential action" related to Hrant Dink. Hayal is one of the three prime supsects in the Hrant Dink murder case.

Social Memory Platform supports Göktaş

Members of the Social Memory Platform attended the hearing to demonstrate their support for journalist Göktaş. The Platform was established to reveal the facts about unsolved murders of intellectuals in the past. The group advocates for lifting the statute of limitation for these cases and also supported the Dink family in previous hearings.

Members of the platform are for instance Özge Mumcu, daughter of investigative journalist Uğur Mumcu who was killed in 1993; Dr Canan Kaftancıoğlu, daughter-in-law of TRT reporter Ümit Kaftancıoğlu who was murdered in 1980 and Aylin Tekiner, daughter of deputy Zeki Tekiner who was killed in 1980 as well, to name just a few.

Prosecutor demanded three years' sentence for Şener

On 28 April, prosecutor Celal Kara from the Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court demanded a prison sentence of three years for journalist Nedim Şener under charges of "disclosing the identity of officials on anti-terrorist duties". Şener is tried by reason of his book entitled "The Dink Murder and the Intelligence Lies". (EÖ/VK)