Istanbul prosecutor's office launches investigation into 28 public officials in Dink murder case

February 8, 2011 - 11:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The special prosecutor's office in Istanbul has launched an investigation into 28 public officials, as announced at the 16th hearing in the case of the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist, Agos editor Hrant Dink.

The investigation will include former Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler, former İstanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah, former director of the Trabzon Police Department Reşat Altay, former head of Intelligence Department of the General Directorate of Security (TNP) Ramazan Akyürek and former commander of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Battalion Colonel Ali Öz following repeated demands from the Dink family lawyers for a new investigation to be launched into several public officials who were allegedly negligent in their duty to protect Dink, Today’s Zaman reported.

Dink family lawyer Fethiye Çetin said at the hearing that some new evidence must be taken into consideration by the court as evidence presented in two new books might shed light into some events related to Dink's murder by ultranationalist teenager Ogün Samast outside the offices of his newspaper Agos in broad daylight in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.

Çetin reminded the court that a news article by Dink in Agos in Feb. 2004 about Turkey’s first-ever female fighter pilot, Sabiha Gökçen, the adopted child of the Republic of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, had attracted harsh statements by the General Staff. In the article in question Dink had said Gökçen was actually an Armenian orphan who survived Genocide. Çetin added that Dink was called to the Istanbul’s governor’s office and the meeting took place in the office of Ergun Güngör, the deputy governor responsible for minority issues, and two intelligence officers were also present.

She also said that in two of his last articles after that meeting, Dink indicated that he was a target and they wanted to teach him a lesson. In the National Intelligence Organization’s (MİT) July 19, 2010 letter to the court, there is an explanation about who was present at that meeting with Dink and that the meeting had occurred with orders by MİT.

“That meeting was apparently held because the General Staff had demanded it. A high level MİT official, who spoke with the Prime Minister’s office that previously investigated the case, allegedly said he found it difficult to explain the meeting with Dink as it was conducted with following a demand by the General Staff,” Çetin said pointing to the information in a recent book on the issue by journalist Nedim Şener.

Çetin questioned why their demands were not investigated into regarding who was present during that meeting and why Dink was not protected even though some officials claimed that the meeting was conducted in order to protect Dink.

The next hearing on the Dink case will be held on March 28.