Killer jailed
July 25, 2011
The murderer of an Armenian journalist has been sentenced to nearly 23 years in prison by a court in Istanbul.
Armenian Hrant Dink was the editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos, and Turkey's best known Armenian voice abroad.
Dink had angered nationalists with articles referring to a Turkish "genocide" of Armenians in 1915 – a highly controversial topic in Turkey. He was shot in broad daylight in January 2007 as he left his office in Istanbul.
The suspect, Ogun Samast confessed to the crime and was initially sentenced to life imprisonment. However the court reduced the sentence to 21 and a half years, as he was underage at the time of the murder. An additional 16 month jail term was awarded for possession of an unlicensed weapon.
The case sent shockwaves through Turkey when it emerged that both police and paramilitary forces knew of an assassination plot to kill Dink but failed to act. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in September 2010 that the Turkish state had failed to protect Dink's life and his freedom of expression. The Turkish government was ordered to pay compensation to his family.
In June, jail terms of between four and six months were given to paramilitary policemen for negligence over the murder. The men were found guilty of ignoring intelligence pertaining to a plot to kill the outspoken journalist.
Author: Catherine Bolsover (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Andreas Illmer