Turkey releases 5 suspects in case of murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist

PanARMENIAN.Net - A court in Istanbul ordered the release of five suspects in a trial related to the 2007 murder of renowned Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Daily Sabah reports.

The suspects were the staff of Istanbul's gendarmerie command when Dink was gunned down by a teenager in front of the Agos weekly newspaper, where Dink was editor-in-chief.

The defendants were among the 85 people tried for negligence and deliberate negligence that amounts to a cover-up regarding the intelligence reports about the murder plot.

Dink's murder was initially attributed to nationalists disturbed by his outspokenness regarding the Armenian "genocide," a thorny issue for Turkey, especially for nationalists.

Ogün Samast, a teenager, was captured and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the daytime murder, but further inquiry found several public and police officials linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) had allegedly tried to cover-up the case.

Ramazan Akyürek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer, who were senior police intelligence officials at the time of Dink's murder, face life imprisonment on charges of homicide and terrorism, as well as forgery and destroying official documents, while other public officials face shorter prison terms for negligence and abuse of duty for their role in the cover-up.

In the 15th hearing of the case at Istanbul's 14th High Criminal Court, judges ordered the release of gendarmerie officers Bekir Yokuş, Ecevit Emir, Emre Cingöz, Hacı Şerif Şimşek and Şeref Ateş due to a lack of evidence.

The court said GPS records showing the location of the suspects did not corroborate the claims that they were at the crime scene before and while Samast fired the fatal shots at Dink.

The court ordered a travel ban and judiciary control for the defendants and adjourned the hearing to Jan. 29.