HRANT DİNK MURDER CASE
‘Threat against Hrant Dink known by law enforcement authorities’
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The lawsuit filed against public officials over the assassination of Agos Newspaper's Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink is now coming to an end. As the defendants made their defense as to the accusations in the previous hearings, the attorneys of the Dink family also made their statements at today's hearing (February 10) held at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court.
Placed under house arrest, the then Trabzon Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Ali Öz, Trabzon Security Director Reşat Altay and İstanbul Intelligence Bureau Chief Ahmet İlhan Güler were present in the courtroom.
The arrested defendants attended the hearing from prison via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).
Taking the floor first, Emel Ataktürk, an attorney for the Dink family, shared details about the process leading up to Dink's murder.
Underlining that the state officials responsible for the Hrant Dink murder were not adequately investigated, attorney Ataktürk reminded the court board and the audience about the decision of non-prosecution given for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) officials.
Noting that the objections to the decisions of non-prosecution given for the public officials were rejected by the court, Ataktürk said that Celalettin Cerrah, Engin Dinç and Ahmet İlhan Güler, the defendants of the trial, should also be tried on charge of "intentional killing by act of negligence" as per the Article 83 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
Mentioning the breaking points of the process leading to Dink's murder, from the establishment of Agos newspaper to targeting of Hrant Dink, attorney Ataktürk gave examples from the meeting at the İstanbul Governor's Office, the declaration issued by the General Staff after Agos reported the news on Sabiha Gökçen and threatening messages sent to Hrant Dink.
"As of 2004, Hrant Dink was turned into an open target for the activities of nationalist and ultranationalist persons and entities", said attorney Emel Ataktürk and added that the threatening atmosphere facing Hrant Dink was also known by the law enforcement authorities.
Bakırcıoğlu: No protection order issued
After Ataktürk's statement, Hakan Bakırcıoğlu, another attorney for the Dink family, took the floor and said that Celalettin Cerrah, Engin Dinç and Ahmet İlhan Güler knew that Dink would be killed. He noted that even though this open threat was known, no step was taken to protect him.
Referring to the protection order issued for writer Orhan Pamuk, attorney Bakırcıoğlu stated, "A protection order should have been issued for Hrant Dink without waiting for a request from him. It was done for Orhan Pamuk 13 months before Hrant Dink was murdered. There was also the signature of Celalettin Cerrah on this protection order."
Hakan Bakırcıoğlu also underlined the "impossibility" that the intelligence about a possible action to be taken against Hrant Dink was communicated to İlhan Güler by Engin Dinç, but it was not communicated to Celalettin Cerrah, the then İstanbul Security Director.
"Contrary to what Ahmet İlhan Güler alleges, the expression of an 'action that will make tremendous impact' refers to grave actions in the field of intelligence," said Bakırcıoğlu, adding that this expression could lead to the conclusion that an action that would claim lives would unfold.
Attorney Hakan Bakırcoğlu indicated that the İstanbul Security Directorate deliberately did not fulfil its duty before the Hrant Dink murder.
Last words will be asked
After Bakırcıoğlu, attorney Hülya Deveci made her statement on behalf of the Dink family. After the statements were completed, the court has ruled that the next hearing shall be held on March 5, 2021.
The court board has also warned that the ruling will be handed down at the next hearing on March 5 and ruled that the defendants shall be asked their last words and all arrested defendants shall attend the next hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).
CLICK - 'Some at the very top winked, those at the very bottom shot'
Hrant Dink murder caseIn the lawsuit filed into the killing of Hrant Dink, the specially authorized 14th Heavy Penal Court handed down its ruling on 19 defendants on January 17, 2012. Arrested defendant Yasin Hayal was sentenced to aggravated life sentence on charge of "incitement to premeditated murder", 3 months in prison for threatining writer Orhan Pamuk and 1 year in prison for "possession of unregistered arm." He was acquitted of "leading an armed terrorist organization." While the court ruled that Erhan Tuncel, one of the arrested defendants, should be sentenced to 10 years, 6 months in prison and ruled for his release, it sentenced Ersin Yolcu to 12 years, 6 months, Ahmet İskender to 13 years, 4 months and Salih Hacısalihoğlu to 2 months, 15 days in prison. All defendants were acquitted of "membership in an armed terrorist organization." The 9th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation reversed the verdict of the local court on "organization" charges and ruled that the defendants should be retried for being the members of "an organization established to commit crimes", not being the members of "an armed terrorist organization." Upholding the conviction of Yasin Hayal on charges of "incitement to deliberate murder" and "threatening Orhan Pamuk", the Court of Cassation reversed the acquittal of Yasin Hayal on charges of "establishing and leading an armed terrorist organization", concluding that he should be convicted of "establishing and leading a criminal organization." While the Court of Cassation upheld the conviction of Erhan Tuncel on charge of "producing explosive substance", it reversed his acquittal of "incitement to willful murder" on the grounds that he should be convicted for having aided the Hrant Dink murder. Case file at the 14th Heavy Penal Court, again Following the Court of Cassation verdict, the retrial began at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. After six hearings were held at this court, the file was sent to the İstanbul 5th Heavy Penal Court as the heavy penal courts specially authorized as per the Article 10 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) were abolished. Accepting the indictment against public officials, the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court sent the case file to the İstanbul 5th Heavy Penal Court so that it would be merged with the main trial of eight defendants, including Ogün Samast, Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, the verdicts of whom had been reversed. The board of the İstanbul 5th Heavy Penal Court returned the case file to the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court on the grounds that "consent was not requested in the ruling for merging the case files, the court was not authorized to hear terror crimes, the trial was at a further stage in the main case and there was no common defendant between the ones put on trial in this case and the public officials to be put on trial in the new case." The 5th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, who examined the files to resolve the dispute between the courts, merged the two files and ruled that the cases should be heard by the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. The İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court ruled that the new trial of 50 defendants including gendarmerie officials should be merged with the main trial of 35 defendants including Ogün Samast, Erhan Tuncel and former security directors Ramazan Akyürek, Ali Fuat Yılmazer and Coşgun Çakır. New indictment While the trial was ongoing, the prosecutor conducting the investigation lodged a new indictment and demanded aggravated life sentence on charge of "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" for 51 defendants including Fetullah Gülen, former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, Editor-in-Chief of the closed Zaman newspaper Ekrem Dumanlu, journalists Adem Yavuz Arslan, Ercan Gün and dismissed Brigadier General Hamza Celepoğlu, the then Trabzon Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Ali Öz, Trabzon Gendarmerie Intelligence Branch Director Metin Yıldız and İstanbul Gendarmerie Intelligence Officer Lieutenant Muharrem Demirkale. The indictment also demanded that 40 defendants including Öz and gendarmerie officers be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment on charge of "participating in the murder." Prison sentence for defendants in the main trial At the hearing on June 13, 2019, the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court ruled that the case files of nine main defendants including Ogün Samast and Yasin Hayal should be separated from the others. Handing down its judgement on July 17, 2019, the court ruled that Erhan Tuncel should be sentenced to 99 years, 6 months in total on charges of "attempted murder with premeditation and by using a bomb, damage to property, being a member of a criminal organization and aiding a wilful murder", Yasin Hayal to 7 years, 6 months in prison for "establishing and leadign an armed criminal organization" and Ogün Samast to 2 years, 6 months in prison on charge of "being a member of an armed criminal organization." The court also sentenced Zeynel Abidin Yavuz to 14 years, 22 days, Tuncay Uzundal to 16 years, 10 months, 15 days and Ahmet İskender and Ersin Yolcu to 1 year, 10 months, 15 days in prison each on similar charges. Defendants Salih Hacısalihoğlu and Osman Hayal were acquitted by the court. |
(HA/SD)