PUBLIC OFFICIALS

The trial of public officials continues in 14th High Penal Court today. Friends of Hrant was present in front of the court house before the hearings started.

As part of Hrant Dink murder investigation, the number of detained suspects has risen to 28 with the detention of 3 more personnel from Trabzon Gendarmerie, including Trabzon Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Ali Öz. Ergün Yorulmaz from Trabzon Gendarmerie Intelligence Branch is arrested.

The third hearing of the trial of public officials ended. Evaluating the demands of release, the court decided to release Ercan Demir. Ali Fuat Yılmazer and Ramazan Akyürek’s detention continues. The next hearing will be held on August 8, 9, 10 and 12.

The hearings of public officials as part of Dink case continues with the defence of Ercan Demir, who was the Trabzon Intelligence Branch Chief at the time of murder.

Before the trial of the public officials starts, Friends of Hrant made a statement to the press. It is stated that “The ones who killed him blatantly, the ones who instigated the murder and the ones who connived at this murder should be called to account, tried and punished regardless of their relations and groups.”

The indictment prepared for trying the public officials as part of Hrant Dink case is joined together the main case in 5th High Penal Court.

Many of the 25 public officials who are included in a bill of indictment as part of Dink case are accused of murder in the first degree, leadership or membership of an armed crime enterprise, destroying the official documents and some of them are accused of murder by omission and some others are accused of official misconduct.

Lawyer Hakan Bakırcıoğlu assessed the most recent state of the Hrant Dink murder investigation for Agos following former Intelligence Branch Chief Ramazan Akyürek’s arrest: “There are many public officials which should be indicted for premeditated murder. The Dink murder is a murder carried out by consensus, and parties to this consensus share total and collective responsibility. Ramazan Akyürek is only one of the public officials who played a significant role in this murder.”