'' ...The Dink case is not a file that can be closed. The Dink case is a wound''
"An Armenian told the truth to the face of the Turkish state and the law. That's why Hrant was murdered...''
(...)
Dink's supporters say they have uncovered evidence that suggests involvement by state officials and police in his murder.
But, they say, repeated requests to have those officials investigated have been ignored, and in some cases important evidence has been destroyed.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Turkey had failed to protect Dink, despite being warned that ultra-nationalists were plotting to kill him.
The court also criticised Turkish authorities over the investigation of his murder.
(...)
Hrant Dink:
Istanbul march as verdict anger continues
Marchers carry placards reading
"We are all Hrant, we are all Armenian"
in Istanbul, 19 January
At least 20,000 people have marched in Istanbul to mark five years since the murder of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Some of the demonstrators were driven by anger over verdicts delivered this week in the latest trial of people linked to his killing.
Three people were jailed but allegations of official negligence or state collusion were rejected.
Dink's actual killer, Ogun Samast
Dink's actual killer, Ogun Samast, was jailed earlier for 22 years.
The journalist, shot dead outside the Istanbul offices of Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, had angered Turkish nationalists by describing the mass killing of Armenians a century ago as genocide.
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced one man to life imprisonment for incitement to murder Dink, and two others were given 12 years in prison.
However, all three men, along with 16 other defendants, were acquitted of the charge of being members of a criminal organisation.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul defended the verdicts of the court on Thursday.
"The conclusion of this case in a transparent and just manner in line with our laws is an important test for us,'' he said.
'We are all Armenian'
On Thursday, human rights activists placed red carnations on the spot where Dink was shot dead by Samast in broad daylight, outside the offices of Agos.
Dink's widow Rakel and his children were among the demonstrators, many of whom carried placards reading "We are all Hrant, we are all Armenian".
Journalist and writer Karin Karakasli, an ethnic Armenian, read out a statement from the window of the Agos offices.
"We want an end to this shame," she was quoted as saying by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman.
"They are telling us that the [case] file has been closed. The Dink case is not a file that can be closed. The Dink case is a wound."
Hrant Dink
Dink's supporters say they have uncovered evidence that suggests involvement by state officials and police in his murder.
But, they say, repeated requests to have those officials investigated have been ignored, and in some cases important evidence has been destroyed.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Turkey had failed to protect Dink, despite being warned that ultra-nationalists were plotting to kill him.
The court also criticised Turkish authorities over the investigation of his murder.
The Turkish state strenuously denies that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in 1915-16 amounted to genocide.
Armenians say as many as 1.5 million people were slaughtered or died of starvation and disease when they were deported by the Ottoman Turks.
ΤΟ ΚΕΙΜΕΝΟ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΤΗΚΕ ΣΤΟ
BBC
19-1-2012
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ
(...)
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ
(...)
In a country where every citizen is defined as a Turk, Hrant Dink defined himself as ethnic Armenian. That was already subversive to some. But Mr Dink went further.
He wrote about the expulsion and killing of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Armenians from eastern Turkey in 1915. To Armenians, and others, that was genocide - a claim Ankara vigorously denies.
Hrant Dink was convicted of insulting the Turkish nation. That is a crime here. Nationalist protesters surrounded his office shouting "Love Turkey or leave it!" and he received hundreds of death threats.
(...)
"An Armenian told the truth to the face of the Turkish state and the law. That's why Hrant was murdered.
(...)
Violent nationalism blights Turkey
He wrote about the expulsion and killing of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Armenians from eastern Turkey in 1915. To Armenians, and others, that was genocide - a claim Ankara vigorously denies.
Hrant Dink was convicted of insulting the Turkish nation. That is a crime here. Nationalist protesters surrounded his office shouting "Love Turkey or leave it!" and he received hundreds of death threats.
(...)
"An Armenian told the truth to the face of the Turkish state and the law. That's why Hrant was murdered.
(...)
Violent nationalism blights Turkey