February 6, 2013 - 14:55 AMT
Street to be named after Hrant Dink in Turkey

The name of assassinated Turkish journalist of Armenian origin Hrant Dink will be given to the street of his childhood home in the eastern city of Malatya, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

The names of around 2,400 streets in Malatya are currently being changed, with the Dink street in the Çavuşoğlu neighborhood being one of them.

Dink was murdered in broad daylight by 17-year-old Turkish nationalist Ogün Samast on Jan 19, 2007, in front of the office building of daily newspaper Agos. After a two-year trial, Samast was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to 22 years and 10 months of prison.

However, to the dismay of Dink’s family and supporters the court also ruled that the murder was not an “organized” crime, despite serious claims that a number of civil servants linked to the “deep state” were “indirectly involved”.

This court decision was recently challenged in an appeal, with the prosecutor’s office of the Supreme Court of Appeals requesting that the top court overturn the ruling in the case on Jan 10, arguing that there were enough elements to conclude that the assassination was indeed organized.