Journalist Şener Faces 28 Years Imprisonment for Book

Nedim Şener, reporter for the daily Milliyet newspaper, has written a book entitled "The Dink Murder and Intelligence Lies".

The book deals with the gendarmerie, police and national intelligence officers who have been accused of negligence in the murder of journalist Hrant Dink in 2007. They are accused both of having prior knowledge of murder plans and of preventing the solving of the case with misleading evidence and fake documents.

According to Şener, "I published the incidents of negligence of these three important intelligence institutions of the state in the Dink murder case, giving names. I have proven that fake documents were prepared. Documents marked as classified and containing lies were published in the book."

Police officers filed complaints

Following the publication of the book, several police officers who filed criminal complaints against the writer: Ramazan Akyürek, then Chief of Police in Trabzon and still in office as Police Intelligence Unit Chief, Ali Fuat Yılmazer, then Police Intelligence C Unit Manager and now Istanbul Intelligence Unit Chief and Muhittin Zenit, the police officer who was responsible for police informant Erhan Tuncel, who is now accused of encouraging Ogün Samast to kill Hrant Dink.

The officers demanded that Şener be tried under the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Another complaint was filed by Faruk Sarı, Trabzon Police Intelligence Branch Manager.

A total of 28 years imprisonment demanded

All in all, Şener faces 28 years imprisonment. He stands accused of "targeting people involved in anti-terrorism campaigns, revealing classified information, obtaining classified information, violating the secrecy of these communications, and attempting to influence the judiciary."

The journalist said, "What they are trying to punish is the basic procedure of journalism, finding and publishing documents, finding out who are the public officials who have responsibility in Hrant Dink's murder."

"It is very strange that the Trabzon gendarmerie command's staff accused of negligence is facing up to two years imprisonment in a trial at the Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court of Peace, while no one from the Trabzon police force, which has also been described as negligent, is being tried."

The Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court is dealing with one of the cases against the journalists, in which he faces up to twenty years imprisonment. The court hearing is on 26 June. The Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance is dealing with a second case, where a sentence of up to 8 years is being demanded. The hearing is on 10 June.

More than the sentence of accused assassin...

The 28 years that Şener faces are eight years more than Ogün Samast, who is being tried for shooting Hrant Dink, faces.

Şener said, "On the one hand, the Heavy Penal Court is trying those who committed the murder or had a hand in it, and on the other hand, it is trying a journalist who has revealed the lies of Turkey's intelligence institutions." (EZÖ/AG)