January 19 marks 5th anniversary of Dink’s murder

January 19 marks 5th anniversary of Dink’s murder

PanARMENIAN.Net - Today, January 19, marks the 5th anniversary of Agos newspaper editor-in-chief Hrant Dink's assassination.

Dink was shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007 offices of his newspaper in Istanbul in broad daylight by ultranationalist teenager Ogün Samast, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

A Turkish court has recently convicted Yasin Hayal, a major suspect in the killing of the Turkish-Armenian journalist, of instigating a murder.

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 Cetin, 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.

Turkey’s President and government officials sought to appease uproar over the verdict in the case into Dink’s murder, calling for patience until the judicial process was completed, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“I see the public’s indignation. We have to wait for the completion of the judicial process. The ruling will be appealed,” President Abdullah Gьl said. He added that the State Inspection Board, which he had tasked with looking into the Dink probe, would soon complete its report.

Today Istanbul is expected to see large-scale actions in Dink’s memory due to the coincidence of the assassination day with the city court passing sentence on the case. Peaceful rally from Taksim Square to Agos editorial office scheduled at 1.00pm Turkish time will be followed by an evening march along Istiklal Street.

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