The trial in Turkey of 15 public officials accused of involvement in the 2007 murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink resumed on Friday at İstanbul’s High Criminal Court No.14. Seven of the defendants are currently remanded in custody, while the others, including some under house arrest, attended the hearing via video link from different locations.
The case was reopened following a decision by the Court of Cassation to overturn a previous ruling. At the heart of the trial is the accusation that these officials, many from law enforcement, committed negligence or gross negligence in failing to prevent the murder despite being aware of the imminent threat to Dink’s life. Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Agos newspaper, was shot dead in Istanbul on 19 January 2007.
At the hearing, the court planned to hear the statements of two defendants on remand, former gendarmerie officers Muharrem Demirkale and Yavuz Karakaya. Demirkale refused to testify via video link, declaring, “I am not evading making my defence statement, but I want to do it in person,” as is his right in Turkish law. Nevertheless, the court rejected this request, and did not take his defence statement at Friday’s hearing.
Karakaya, who worked as an intelligence officer at Istanbul Gendarmerie Command, began his defence by quoting religious texts. He denied involvement in the murder and questioned the reliability of the key witness, Ogün Samast, the gunman convicted of killing Dink. “Samast’s statements have been inconsistent, and his description of the individual at the crime scene does not match me,” Karakaya said, calling the charges against him “slander” and demanding to be acquitted.
The trial has been adjourned to 10 January 2025 for the final statements of the defendants to be taken. The court ruled to extend both the custody of the seven defendants on remand and the judicial control measures for those out on bail.
