ISTANBUL (Marmara)—Hrant Dink’s attorney announced Wednesday that the slain Agos newspaper editor’s family was thinking about filing suit against the head of the Turkish Secret Service Ahmet Ilhan Guler for not pursuing information regarding an assassination attempt against Dink. Guler, who has been fired for his handling of the case is also being blamed for not conveying vital life-saving information to Dink, regarding death threats the police had received. Meanwhile, a Turkish court began Dink’s retrial for "insulting Turkishness" Tuesday at the Second Sisli Criminal Court, almost three weeks after a 17-year-old nationalist shot and killed the Turkish-Armenian journalist, Anatolia news agency reported today. Dink was accused of violating controversial Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) that criminalizes insulting Turkishness in an article he wrote in Agos weekly on Feb. 13, 2004. In his article, Dink said, "The clean blood that will replace the poisoned blood of the Turk is present in the honored veins that will be established between the Armenian and Armenia." Several people, including the controversial nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz had filed complaints against the journalist. The Sisli Prosecutor’s Office had then taken on the case, filing charges against Dink for insulting Turkishness. Dink had argued that what he meant by the statement was that Armenia’s had the strength to overcome their destructive hatred of Turks. Dink’s murder suspect also said he was influenced by the nationalist interpretation of what the journalist wrote. Dink was found guilty and given a suspended six-month sentence. The Supreme Court of Appeals Ninth Criminal Bureau and the Supreme Court interpreted Dink’s statement as an insult to Turkishness. The Sisli court Judge Hacer Bayraktar said there were no records of Dink’s death and postponed the trial to June 14.
© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.