Dink Lawyers Call for Colonel’s Trial in Istanbul

Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was murdered in front of his office in Istanbul on 19 January 2007.

Trabzon gendarmerie implicated 

It has since emerged that gendarmerie in Trabzon, in the north of Turkey, was informed of murder plans of young men in Trabzon through their intelligence network. In the latest development, two gendarmerie officers on trial in Trabzon, Okan Simsek and Veysel Sahin, have stated that their superior, the Trabzon province gendarmerie commander Colonel Ali Öz had been informed of murder plans several times but did not act.

Following the revelation, Öz was taken off duty at his new post in Bilecik, in the west of Turkey.

The Trabzon court which is trying the two gendarmerie officers has filed a criminal complaint against Ali Öz and nine other gendarmerie officers named by the two defendants.

Cinmen: Officers should be tried in Istanbul 

Now Ergin Cinmen, one of the lawyers for the Dink family and joint attorney in the main murder trial in Istanbul, has called for Öz to be tried in Istanbul.

Cinmen told bianet that as a preliminary investigation was being carried out into the officers, the lawyers would submit a formal request for them to be tried at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court, where the main murder trial is being heard.

"A branch of the gang" 

He added, “What happened in Trabzon is not neglect of duty. We are of the opinion that this formation was a branch of the gang preparing the attack on Dink, a part of the gang carrying out the murder. Our demands from now on will be in that direction. We believe that the investigation in Trabzon is within the jurisdiction of the Istanbul prosecutors.

Cinmen said that he believed the two gendarmerie officers on trial had told the truth: “Nearly all the authorities at the Trabzon gendarmerie command know Hrant Dink’s murderer. It has emerged that no preventative measures were taken. From now on we expect justice to be done.” (EÖ/GG/AG)