ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)–A report prepared by the lawyers of Hrant Dink’s family and presented to the government almost a year after his murder argues that the investigation into the murder of the journalist last January is incomplete, with the lawyers noting that without a comprehensive inquiry, concrete and correct results cannot be obtained, the Turkish Daily News reports.
Dink was murdered in front of his newspaper, Armenian weekly Agos, at 3:00 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2007 in Istanbul by a 17-year-old teenager with nationalist sympathies. Hundreds turned out at Dink’s funeral chanting, “We are all Dink, We are all Armenia’s.”
The report, which highlights all the developmen’s since the murder, was presented to Justice Minister Mehmet Ali ?ahin and Interior Minister Be?ir Atalay by the Democratic Society Party’s (DTP) Diyarbak?r deputy, Ak?n Birdal, who is also a member of Parliament’s Human Rights Commission and a rights activist.
The report argues there were repeated cases of clash of interest, with some state officials who faced investigation as part of the case being allowed to work while providing evidence for the investigation. It said: “The organized structure behind the murder has not been uncovered.”
The lawyers said the investigation phase of the case was kept secret, with the victim’s side prevented from contributing to the flow of information, something that resulted in clear deficiencies.
The report supported the indictment but argued that the murder alone was just part of the process, with the serious ideological basis and the preparations made before the murder not limited to those indicted by the prosecutor.
Reporters Without Borders also issued an announcement on the anniversary of Dink’s murder. The text of the announcement is published on Page 4 of today’s issue.
