Dink murder orchestrators left unexposed – expert

Dink murder orchestrators left unexposed – expert

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Armenian expert slammed January 17 Istanbul court decision over Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink murder case.

“With perpetrators given different terms in prison, the case is all but finalized, as those who orchestrated the crime were left unexposed,” Artak Shakaryan said.

“With the court ruling out connections between the suspects and some state officials, the imprisonment term for Dink murderer Ogun Samast might be diminished in a reviewed case,” the expert said.

“Another perpetrator, Erhan Tuncel was given 10 years for his role in a McDonalds bombing. The court, however, acquitted Tuncel of murder charges, also leaving out the fact of police inaction, though the latter was informed of the murder plot in advance,” according to Shakaryan.

The expert believes Turkish authorities to have linked the Dink case with Ergenekon to up pressure on the military and nationalists.

A Turkish court has convicted Yasin Hayal, a major suspect in the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, of instigating a murder and sentenced him to life in prison, while Erhan Tuncel was acquitted of murder charges by the court.

The Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court issued its ruling in the 25th hearing of the case. Tuncel was given 10 years, six months for his role in a McDonalds bombing in 2004. The court, however, acquitted Hayal and several others of charges of acting under a terrorist organization's orders, angering lawyers who say the trial failed to shed light on alleged connections between the suspects and some state officials.

The Dink family's lawyer, Fethiye Зetin, slammed the ruling, saying it meant that a “state tradition of political murders” was deliberately left intact because it did not deal with accusations of state involvement in the 2007 murder.

 Top stories
The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering.
Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital.
The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Partner news
---