Parliamentary Commission into Deaths of Dink and Okey

The Parliamentary Human Rights Commission met for the first time in this legislative year today (1 October). The commission has decided to form two sub-commissions to investigate the murder of journalist Hrant Dink and the death of Nigerian refugee Festus Okey at the Beyoglu Police Department.

Akin Birdal, MP for the Democratic Society Party (DTP) from Diyarbakir and a member of the commission, told bianet that the commissions needed to start working immediately: "These are burning issues, which cannot be delayed."

The president of the Human Rights Commission, MP Zafer Üskül from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), had spoken before the meeting, saying: "We see ourselves responsible for investigating allegations of human rights violations not only in Turkey but also in other countries." (TK/AG)