On Friday at around 5:10 p.m. Yerevan time, chief editor of the “Agos” weekly Hrant Dink was shot 5 times in Istanbul with two of the shots fired at his head. According to CNN, Dink was assassinated on his way out of the editorial office. NTV reports that the police are searching for an 18-19 year-old young man with a white cap and a jacket sewn from a hard material. According to witnesses, the criminal was a 25-30 year-old man, who had a height of 1.65 meters. Turkish television channels report that Dink had received murder threats a couple of times and they were mainly made by Turkish right-wing extremist organizations. It is worth mentioning that in 2006, a criminal case was brought up against H. Dink based on the 301st article entitled “Offense of the Turkish Identity” of the Turkish Criminal Code. Cases have been brought up against those who have called the events of 1915 “genocide” and Dink was one of them. In 2006, Dink was sentenced to jail conditionally for six months based on that article and his appeal trial was already in progress. Dink was also against the French Senate’s approval of the bill penalizing anyone who denies the Armenian Genocide. According to him, that’s a violation of freedom of speech.
President of Turkey Ahmed Nejet Sezer condemned the murder of Dink.
“I condemn that dirty and shameful armed attack with hatred. Such an inhumane act can’t serve its purpose. We are all waiting to see the arrest of the authors of that attack which has truly offended the Turkish people. I truly express my condolences to Hrant Dink’s family, world presses and the people,” he said.
The Turkish “Yeni Shafag” paper referred to the part of Hrant Dink’s interview given on December 27, 2005, when he had said that the trial against him for “offending the Turks” was phony and if the “stigma caused” by the penalty given by Turkey “did not clear, then he would leave Turkey just like the people before him.” Turkish Prime Minister Rejeb Tayyib Erdoghan declared that Dink’s murder was aimed against the unity, equality and stability of the Turkish people.
“We’re sorry that the bloody hands once again chose Turkey in order to reach their goals.” “…I curse the bloody hands of the perpetrator behind this humiliating crime on behalf of myself, the Turkish government and the people of Turkey.”
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan expressed his condolences to the family and relatives of Hrant Dink.
“We hope that the Turkish authorities will do their best to find the assassins and condemn them to the full extent of the law,” said the press secretary of the President of Armenia.
The OSCE Press freedom issues correspondent Milosh Harashti also condemned the murder of Dink.
“The people provoking the attacks against journalists may not remain unpunished. I call on the Turkish government to reveal the authors of the crime as soon as possible,” he said and also called on the Turkish authorities to put an end to the criminal prosecution of those who express opinions that differ from the government’s roles. It is worth mentioning that Hrant Dink is the 62nd journalist assassinated in Turkey since 1999. According to the Turkish “Sabah”, nearly 350 people have begun a demonstration in Istanbul. Turkish intellectual from Germany Ali Ertem told “ArmenPress”:
“This was a political murder. Armenians living in the Turkish state don’t have the security guarantee. Turkey must change its policy; the current manner of working is not helping the process of European Union integration. After the murder of Hrant Dink, Turkey’s chances of integrating into the European Union are decreasing.”
“Agos” reporter Tiran Lokmakiozyan said that “the powers behind the murder are the powers that don’t like the way that “Agos” works”, which is raising the Armenian Issue and making the effort to reach the fair solution.