Dink Murderer Receives Sentence
ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)—On July 25, the Istanbul Second Juvenile Criminal Court sentenced the killer of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink to 22 years and 10 months in prison. Ogun Samast, a 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist, gunned down Dink, the editor of the Turkish and Armenian weekly Agos, in front of his office on Jan. 19, 2007.
“Ogun Samast and other suspects were not expecting this sentence. This could ruin their hope of being freed soon,” Dink’s lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, told Reuters. “This is very important to deter this sort of crime.”
Samast was initially served a life sentence for the “premeditated murder” of Dink, but that was later reduced to 21 years and 6 months due to his age at the time of the crime. He will also serve an additional 16 months for possessing an unlicensed firearm.
Prosecutors had demanded a prison term of up to 26 years for Samast, while his defense sought his acquittal. Samast still faces additional charges and up to another 16 years in prison, according to sources.
Erhan Tuncel and Yasin Hayal, two suspects believed to have planned the murder, are still being tried in regular court.
During his trial, Samast alleged that Hayal took advantage of his lack of education and poor economic condition to entice him to enter a life of crime. Samast also claimed he was influenced by newspaper articles that attacked Dink and dubbed him a traitor. He said those articles, published in newspapers such as Hurriyet and Vatan, were responsible in significant part for his acts, according to Turkish sources.
Others suspected of conspiracy over Dink’s murder are still being tried. Seven gendarmes from Trabzon were also charged in a local court for neglecting to act despite having prior knowledge of plans to assassinate Dink. In June, two were sentenced to six months in prison, and four other officials to four months.
In September 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkish authorities had “failed in their duty to protect the life and freedom of expression of the journalist Firat (Hrant) Dink.” Turkey was ordered to pay 133,595 euros to the Dink family.
Dink had been prosecuted three times for violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for “insulting Turkishness,” and had received thousands of death threats.
The people responsible for this crime should receive lifetime sentence without parol and not 22 years… however, knowing Turkish govt and how they operate, it will take enormeous efforts on their part NOT to punish one of their own….
to me…punishing the person responsible for the killing is not enough.. those baboons (police) who did not respond on a timely manner and created a circus when the killing took place should be thrown in jail forever as well…bastards…
Gayane
I would like to say job well done, however, I will not let my guard down so soon; this is only my opinion!!
This kid is just a pawn used by the bigger guys. If you have heard the Ergenekon plot, these plotters are also in jail but Americans and others criticize AKP for jailing them. They think AKP is jailing opposition but they actually jailed murderers of Hrant Dink.
Turks especially choose young persons to commit such crimes – to “serve”” ridiculous justice in prison via the so-called Turkey justice system… Adults, the real plotters of the murder of Hrant Dink, are still in government, still in police work and more… Turkish style.