The friends of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink have penned a letter just days before the journalist’s birthday to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asking for those responsible for his death to be held accountable, Hurriyet Daily News reported

“Our search for justice has been left null and void as [our efforts] approach their fifth year. The state in its entirety that we have petitioned saw itself as being close to the murderer. At any rate, the murderer posed for a victorious poster of heroism with the police and the flag,” the letter said, referring to a congratulatory photograph of Dink’s self-confessed assassin, Ogün Samast, with the police and a Turkish flag that was taken soon after the suspect was apprehended in the wake of the 2007 assassination.

The letter also accused the government of promoting individuals who threatened Dink, as well as the police chief who allegedly neglected his duty to provide protection for the journalist. The letter also rebuked security forces for glorifying the murder.

“Camera records – many of which have been erased – suggested that five people were involved in the murder. Who are these people, Mr. Prime Minister? We want the murderers, [both] the manifest and the furtive ones, in the name of justice, and for righteousness to [prevail,]” said the letter.

Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of bilingual weekly Agos, was shot in front of his office in January 2007. Samast was sentenced to 22 years in prison last month.

Among the eight suspects who are being tried on charges of negligence in preventing the murder are Trabzon Gendarmerie Commander Col. Ali Öz and Gendarmerie Intelligence Unit Director Cpt. Metin Yıldız.