Third Dink Hearing: Calls for Justice Renewed

Yesterday (11 February) the third hearing of the Hrant Dink murder trial took place at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court in Besiktas, central Istanbul, lasting eight hours.

Hrant Dink, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos newspaper, was shot dead in front of his office on 19 January 2007.

First ever recording of a court hearing

Tight security precautions were in place in front of the court building. The hearing itself was recorded, following the demand by co-plaintiffs to ensure a fair trial. This has been the first time that a hearing has been recorded in Turkey, and it caused some delay in the morning.

Before the hearing started, the Hrant Dink Sensitivity group, made up of writers, journalists, human rights activists and others, read a statement in front of the court building in which it pledged the pursuit of justice.

The hearing was attended by members of Hrant Dink’s family, their lawyers, several members of parliament, members of the Hrant Dink Sensitivity Group, as well as Joost Lagendijk from the European Parliament.

Turgut aggressive as usual 

There was some tension during the hearing. Fuat Turgut, the controversial defense lawyer of suspect Yasin Hayal,  demanded that Lagendijk and the MPs be sent out of the court room, saying, “The Law on Foundations [concerning property of religious minorities in Turkey] is coming out, let them get busy with that.” Turgut also accused the lawyers of the Dink family of being members of an illegal organisation.

Turgut has recently come to public attention when he was taken into custody and later released in the operation against the ultra-nationalist Ergenekon gang.

Defendants also displayed insulting behaviour

Hayal is said to have waved at the Dink family and smiled, and was reprimanded by the judge. Suspect Erhan Tuncel referred to Hrant Dink’s widow Rakel Dink during his questioning, saying: “They have made a saint out of her. She is giving speeches. She calls us ‘children’, but at the same time she is trying to make sure we get the most severe sentences.” Tuncel also demanded that the joint attorneys be sent out of court, alleging that they had revealed names and violated secrecy.

The eight detained suspects were brought to court, but only Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, accused of instigating the murder, were questioned.
Hayal answered the questions of Dink’s lawyers. He described the relations which Tuncel, a police informant, had with the Alperen Hearths, the youth organisation of the nationalist Great Union Party (BBP).

Hayal and Tuncel's statements

Hayal said that they had called Tuncel “chief,” that he had taken part in the bombing of the Trabzon McDonald’s in 2004, but that they had protected him.

Following the question of a joint plaintiff, Hayal said he was “sorry” for the murder of Hrant Dink.

In order to prove that he was a police informant, Tuncel gave the names of three police officers whom he was in contact with. The first of the names was Muhittin Zenit, who spoke with Tuncel hours after the murder, and displayed knowledge of the murder plan in the recording of the conversation.

Because a file prepared on Tuncel by the intelligence  unit was destroyed after the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecution read it, there is no concrete evidence of his connections in the past.

Tuncel announced at the hearing that he would not answer any questions of the lawyers. He said, “I did what I was asked to do, I could not do more. If my intentions had been bad, I would not have informed (the authorities of the murder plan).”

Three trials will remain separate, defendants will remain in detention

Despite demands by the co-plaintiffs to link the cases of the suspects in Istanbul, Samsun and Trabzon, the court has decided to keep the trials separate. Thus, the police officers in Samsun and the gendarmerie officers in Trabzon will be tried for gross negligence and hiding evidence in separate trials.

The court also refused the demand of the defense to release the defendants from detention.

Next hearing in two weeks

The next hearing of the case is on 25 February, when the court will evaluated demands to identify the intelligence officers who have been accused of threatening Hrant Dink in the office of the Istanbul Governor’s office, as well as the forensic medical report concerning the biological age of suspected gunman O.S..

In addition, questioning of the other detained suspects will continue. (EÖ/TK/AG)