Saturday, January 21 2017 13:33

ArmInfo.Ten years passed, but Turkish  law enforcement entities still cannot find Hrant Dink assassination organizers. According to the information shared by  Armenian Foreign Ministry press office, this was stated he Head of  the Armenian Mission to the OSCE, Ambassador Arman Kirakosyan, who   referred to the 9th anniversary of assassination of Turkish-Armenian  journalist Hrant Dink as he addressed the meeting of the OSCE  Permanent Council on January 21.  Ambassador Kirakosyan said he  shares the expectations of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the  Media Dunja Mijatovic that the masterminds behind the murder will be  brought to justice, which will demonstrate to the entire society the  importance of freedom of expression.

He noted that "Armenia is consistent in its support for the freedom  of the media and the security of human rights advocates." "The  persecution of journalists, community heads and human rights  defenders in Turkey, the inability to react to the violence and  assassinations create an atmosphere of impunity, thus encouraging  intolerance against any idea contradicting the country's official  position," the Ambassador added.  The Ambassador hailed the fact that  a huge sector of the Turkish society went to the streets to  commemorate the 9th anniversary of Hrant Dink's death, urging  punishment for all masterminds behind the murder.

Arman Kirakosyan also urged the Turkish authorities to properly  address those calls.  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.

"Year after year, we remember the anniversary of Hrant Dink's murder,  honouring his brave words advocating for minority rights, and paying  tribute to his exceptional efforts to create peace," said the  Representative. "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 cannot do so with impunity,"  Kirakisyan said. 

To remind, Dink was assassinated in Istanbul on 19 January 2007 by  Ogun Samast,  a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist, but the customers of  the crime  were not detected. 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 Y?lmazer, 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.