|
Turkish teen jailed over journalist's murder
2007-01-24
A Turkish court has jailed the suspected teenage murderer of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, but no immediate charges were brought against him, his lawyer said. The judge ordered 17-year-old Ogun Samast to prison under a provision that allows detainees to be jailed in the course of the investigation if they are under "strong suspicion" for serious offenses, attorney Levent Yildirim said Wednesday. "Obviously, we are speaking about homicide here," he told reporters outside the courthouse following Samast's first appearance before a judge since his arrest at the weekend. As in his initial testimony to the police, Samast again confessed before the court to gunning down Dink last Friday outside the office of the journalist's bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos in downtown Istanbul, Yildirim said. "My client, of course, did not act alone. Some people directed and instigated him," he added. The youngster, an unemployed secondary school graduate from the northern city of Trabzon who was reportedly close to an ultranationalist group, wore a bulletproof vest as he was brought to the courthouse in an armoured vehicle after three days in police custody, escorted by dozens of riot police. Four others suspected of involvement in the killing were also brought to the courthouse in Istanbul's Besiktas district in a separate vehicle. They were also expected to appear before a judge, who will decide on whether to place them under arrest. Among them was Yasin Hayal, 26, who served 11 months for a 2004 bomb attack against a McDonald's restaurant in Trabzon and who allegedly incited Samast to kill Dink and provided the gun. As he was led to the courthouse, a confident-looking Hayal shouted to reporters, "Orhan Pamuk should come to his senses" -- an apparent threat to the Nobel Prize laureate Turkish novelist who, like Dink, has contested the official line on the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Dink and Pamuk have both been branded "traitors" by nationalists and were tried last year for "insulting Turkishness"; the case against Pamuk was dropped on a technicality and Dink was given a six-month suspended sentence. Dink, shot three times in broad daylight from behind in the head and the neck, was one of Turkey's most prominent ethnic Armenians and had won respect as a sincere activist campaigning to reconcile Turks and Armenians over their brutal history. His suspected assailant "did not know Dink very well and said he did not expect the murder to become such a big issue," lawyer Yildirim said. Samast was captured 32 hours after the shooting, identified thanks to footage from the security camera of a nearby bank. He was allegedly instigated by Hayal, described in the media as an "older brother" figure who frequently met youngsters in the impoverished suburbs of Trabzon and influenced them with his ultra-nationalist views. Samast was reportedly among 10 youths aged 15 to 17 whom Hayal had taught to shoot in order to assassinate Dink.
Turkish Nobel laureate cancels Germany trip (2007-01-31)Five Turks charged in murder of editor (2007-01-25)Turkish teen jailed over journalist's murder (2007-01-24)50,000 Turks mourn slain Armenian editor (2007-01-23)Turkey probes journalist's murder amid huge public outcry (2007-01-20)
| 
