Police tries to defend organizers of Dink's murder

PanARMENIAN.Net - A report on the threat to Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's life was tampered with and toned down before being sent to Istanbul.



In particular, the sentence 'Yasin Hayal will murder Hrant Dink whatever the cost' was changed to 'Hayal is planning to take action toward Dink'.



On June 16, 2006, Trabzon Police Department received report on Yasin Hayal's intention to take action against Dink's life. Two days later, the modified form of the statement was sent to Istanbul Police department. The document carries the signature of Ramazan Akyürek who was Trabzon's chief of police at the time.



In a report prepared by the Prime Minister's Inspection Board, Akyürek is being blamed for "neglecting duty". The document was approved by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.



The report signed by Akyürek includes intelligence provided by Tuncel. Tuncel says an accomplice of Hayal told him that Dink and Agos daily were blackening the image of Turks and the Turkish Republic, and for that reason they were planning to take action against him.



"While I was convinced Hayal would do what he wanted to do for sure, I advised him not to do so. He told me that he would kill this person no matter the cost," Hurriyet Daily News quotes Tuncel as saying.



Hrant Dink was gunned down Jan. 19, 2007 in front of his office in central Within case frameworks, there are 18 detainees, most of them being from Trabzon.



Yasin Hayal, 26, who supplied Ogün Samast will stand trial on July 6. That will be the 6th hearing over the case.