Former Head of Trabzon Security Department: Didn’t Know Dink to Be Assassinated

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The second hearing of the trial of Agos Weekly’s Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink’s murder has entered its third day before İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court.  

The arrested suspects Ali Fuat Yılmazer, Ramazan Akyürek and Ercan Demir have been brought to the trial. Suspects Tamer Bülent Demirel, Osman Gülbel, Ali Poyraz, Hamdi Egebatan under arrest for other other crimes have voluntarily participated in the trial from the prisons they are in.

Yasin Hayal and Ogün Samast also have participated in the trial via video.

RSF: Dink’s murder is a crime against humanity

Önderoğlu following the trial has made following comments for bianet:

“Unfortunately until three years ago, the tough task to enlighten Dink’s murder was left over to the victim’s family, attorneys and conscientious people until the crack in the heart of the state concerning the Gülen Movement.  With regards to its severity, Dink’s murder is a crime against humanity”.

Engin Dinç was absent again

Among the suspects who were not under arrest, Celalettin Cerrah, Ahmet İlhan Güler, Reşat Altay, Faruk Sarı, Sabri Uzun, Onur Karakaya, Mehmet Ayhan, Mehmet Ali Özkılıç, Muhittin Zenit and Özkan Mumcu were in the trial. Security Directorate Head of Intelligence Department Engin Dinç again has not attended the trial.

Altay: Ashamed of being tried

The first defence has been served by the Head of Trabzon Security Directorate Reşat Altay. He has noted that the had “a very clean record” and he was “ashamed of being tried of Dink’s murder”.

Noting that he had taken office in the department on May 15, 2016, Altay has added that he had taken over the position from Ramazan Akyürek and that Akyürek did not inform him about already ongoing operations.

“I have not received any information implying that Dink would be killed”.

Altay has added that after he had taken over the position, he and Engin Dinç had talked about a problematic Intelligence Department staff who would, according to Dinç’s comments, was aggressive and could possibly drag them into undesirable situations later.

Altay has underlined that Dinç did not give him any information on Dink’s assassination in their meetings and has added that only after the assassination he had found out that the very above mentioned Intelligence Department staff was Erhan Tuncel as he was interrogated.  

Upon being asked “Why didn’t you ask about military intelligence service which was also trying to take advantage of Tuncel, did you not feel the need to examine his file?” Altay has answered;

“No I didn’t. The information i have received implied that Tuncel did not provide any information and should be discharged due his attitude”.

Lost F4 reports

Claiming that in the period in which Tuncel was being discharged, he had not been informed that Tuncel was the one providing information on Dink’s assassination, Altay has commented on the missing F4 reports in which the records of meetings with Tuncel were supposed to be kept, and explained; “Due to the heavy workload, I might have overlooked that the F4 reports were missing”.

"Yasin Hayal never gave up assassination plan on Dink”

Noting that there were 10 pieces of F4 reports, Altay has expressed that no one including himself knew what was in the first eight of these reports.

He has added that only the ninth F4 report included information that Dink would certainly be assassinating and 10th report included data that Tuncel would talk Yasin Hayal out of murdering Dink.

Arrest warrant for suspect Yunus Yazar

The court has ordered to issue an arrest warrant for former Security General Directorate Intelligence Department Technical Unit Director Yunus Yazar on charges of “being a member of an armed terrorist organization”

The board of judges ruled that also the that Hrant’s family were allowed in the trial as they were also party to the trial in consideration of the “possibility that they have suffered damages due to the crime” with regards to the crimes of “deliberate murder” and “wilful murder due to negligent offense”.

The trial will continue on June 20-21-23.

Trial of public officials

The indictment against public officials prepared by Prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü demanding trying of 26 suspects including Engin Dinç, Ahmet İlhan Güler, Celalettin Cerrah and Reşat Altay had been accepted by 14th High Criminal Court and referred to 5th High Criminal Court in which the main trial was being held.

Following the 5th High Criminal Court rejecting the case, the disagreement between the two courts had been brought to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Supreme Court of Appeal had ruled that the action brought against the public officials should be combined with the main lawsuit regarding the murder of Hrant Dink.

In the first hearing of the trial held before 14th İstanbul High Criminal Court, the court had decided to release the arrested suspects Muhittin Zenit and Özkan Mumcu and the prosecutor had objected to the decision which had also been rejected after a revision of the decision by the court. (EA/DG)