Plaque Installed in Memory of Dink, Crowds Take to the Streets

ISTANBUL (A.W.)–In the morning of Jan. 19, five years after the murder of Hrant Dink, the editor of the Turkish and Armenian weekly Agos, a new plaque was seen on one of the cobblestones of the Agos building in Istanbul. It read, “Hrant Dink was murdered here, January 19, 2007, at 15:05.”

“Hrant Dink was murdered here, January 19, 2007, at 15:05”

Meanwhile, an estimated 20,000 people flooded the streets of Istanbul on Jan. 19, marching in remembrance of the murdered journalist, to protest a recent court ruling that set free many of the murder suspects, and denounced the state of affairs in Turkey. They carried signs that read, “We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenian.”

Trial a disappointment

The anniversary of Dink’s death came two days after 19 suspects were acquitted of charges of being members of a terrorist organization that plotted the murder. Another suspect, Yasin Hayal, received a life sentence on charges of instigating the premeditated murder.

The Dink family and human rights organizations condemned the ruling. The Dink family lawyers say the murder was a planned act.

Last year, an Istanbul court sentenced Ogun Samast, a 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist, to 22 years and 10 months in prison for killing Dink in front of the Agos newspaper building. Samast was prosecuted as a minor, and received a lenient sentence for his crime.

In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Turkish government to pay compensation to the Dink family, after a ruling that found the state guilty of failing to protect the murdered journalist.

 

 

5 Comments

  1. Not like anyone was expecting a fair trial. However, the fact that people in Turkey are starting to see the truth through government propaganda is encouraging.

    Prime Minister Erdogan: “The kind of people who did this might be anything, but they can definitely not call themselves nationalists.” — I am speechless.

    A Turkish reporter to Erdogan: “”Karar içinize sindi mi?” sorusuna Erdoğan, ”Az önce de ifade ettiğim gibi kamuoyu vicdanı rahat değil ama faille ilgili verilmiş olan bu ceza, bundan daha başkası olmaz zaten ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis, idam olmadığına göre, bundan daha başka ceza verilemez” yanıtını verdi.

    Q: Does the verdict satisfy you?
    A: Like I said, the public conscious is not satisfied, but there can be no greater punishment given to this criminal, life imprisonment, and seeing as we don’t have execution, there can be no other verdict.

    No mention at all of the whole group of guilty people released, but honing in on the one person who got sentenced.

  2. This kangaroo court verdict reminds me of a court trial episode from Alan Parker’s excellent film depicting the Turkish slyness – “The Midnight Express”.

    • not a good example about that.The court which at Midnight Express movie completely unreal and consist lie scenes.

  3. And what kind of “kangaroo courts” have they got in your Armenia? This kind of response would be impossible in Yerevan, had the roles been reversed, and you all know it! BTW, we’re all still waiting for any of you to answer just how many Turks and/or Azeris live in Armenia? The total number can be counted on one hand!

  4. Robert.
    What concerns the courts in Armenia, that’s what more or less exists in almost all former Soviet republics and no one claims that they function perfectly. But, that is no ground to justify the gross miscarriage of justice in the case of a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin in your country.
    What concerns the number of Turks/Azeris in Armenia, can you tell me when and in which period have Turks ever lived in present day Armenia? There were never Turks living in great numbers in Eastern Armenia, not at time of the Tzarist Russia nor during the Soviet reign. As for Azeri’s, they left Armenia after the start of the Karabakh war on their own will. They were not forcibly driven away or massacred as were the half a million Armenian citizens in Azerbaijan. The handful Armenian community which now exists in Turkey is the remainder of a once much, much larger community of whicn 1,5 million were exterminated by your Imperial Ottoman ancestors.
    You seem to be full of hatred, which is not good for your health.

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