Thursday, January 19 2017 15:25

ArmInfo.Turkish authorities must intensify their efforts to find the masterminds behind the killing of prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, Dunja  Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said  today.

The press office of the OSCE quotes Dunja Mijatovic as saying, "Year  after year, we remember the anniversary of Hrant Dink's murder,  honoring his brave words advocating for minority rights, and paying  tribute to his exceptional efforts to create peace. But we do so  knowing that even a decade on, the masterminds behind this tragedy  are still at large." 

"I urge the authorities of Turkey to increase their efforts to ensure  that justice is served and to provide closure for the friends and  family of Hrant Dink after an agonizing decade of questions.  Authorities must reinforce the vital message to society that those  who commit violence against journalists can not do so with impunity."  The Representative has frequently called on OSCE participating States  to end impunity for violence against and killing of journalists. 

On 19 January 2007, Dink, the editor of the Armenian-Turkish  bilingual Agos magazine, was shot dead in front of the weekly's  Istanbul offices. Although his murderer was arrested and sentenced to  more than 22 years in prison, the investigation into uncovering the  masterminds of the crime remains open. 

To note, the Dink murder trial opened in Istanbul on 2 July 2007.  Eighteen people were charged at Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No 14 in  connection with the journalist's assassination. Since the main  suspect, Ogun Samast was younger than 18, the hearing was not public.   Reportedly, the defendants Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel repeated  their testimonies given to the security forces and prosecutor. The  court decided to release the defendants Osman Altay, Irfan Ozkan,  Salih Hacisalihoglu and Veysel Toprak to be tried without remand and  adjourned the hearing to 1 October. On 25 July 2011, Samast was  convicted of premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm  by Istanbul's Heavy Juvenile Criminal Court. He was sentenced to 22  years and 10 months in prison, and could be eligible for parole in  2021, after serving two thirds of his sentence. Another suspect,  Yasin Hayal, was convicted of ordering the murder and was sentenced  to life imprisonment. In July 2014, the Turkish Supreme Court ruled  that the investigation into the killing had been flawed, thus paving  the way for trials of police officials and other public authorities.   In the pursuit of this case hearings were held, and in January 2017  Ali Fuat Yilmazer, the former head of Turkey's police intelligence  branch, gave testimony that the killing was "deliberately not  prevented" and security authorities in Istanbul and Trabzon were  responsible.