Instigator Of Dink’s Murder To Be Retried For Previous Crime

Yasin Hayal, who is on trial for instigating the murder of Hrant Dink and in prison at the moment, will be retried for the bombing of McDonalds in Trabzon.

8th Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which had ratified the three year and four month sentence given previously to Hayal for “producing explosives,” reversed its judgment since there were six people who had been injured at the bombing executed on October 24, 2004, and decided for the reopening the case.

Hayal will be retried on September 23

The Supreme Court of Appeals found the previous sentence inadequate and decided that Hayal should be punished separately for each victim.

Hayal’s trial will start in Trabzon’s 1st High Criminal Court on September 23.

Getting caught six days after the Trabzon attack, Hayal was sentenced to six years and eight months for the crimes of “producing explosives”, “using explosives”, and injuring six people. The accused was released pending trial a year later in October 2005.

Hayal’s “early release” was discussed at the Dink case

It was suggested in Dink's case that Hayal had been released early in exchange for Erhan Tuncel’s acceptance to work as an informant for the Trabzon Police Department. Tuncel is also on trial for instigating the murder of Hrant Dink and is in prison like Hayal.

The next hearing in the trial of Hrant Dink’s murder will be in Istanbul’s 14th High Criminal Court at Beşiktaş on October 13. Hrant Dink, chief editor and owner of  Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, was killed on January 19, 2007. (EÖ/EÜ/TB)