Dink Family's appeal regarding the Samast ruling rejected at the Regional Court of Appeal
Ogün Samast, the hitman in the Hrant Dink murder, was released in 2023. Although a criminal complaint had been filed by the prosecutor's office in this direction before, a lawsuit was filed under the article of “Committing a crime on behalf of an organization without being a member of the organization” only after the reactions following his release. This file of Samast was merged with the file of other defendants being tried for the crime of “Changing the constitutional order.” The charge of “Committing a crime on behalf of an organization without being a member of the organization” against Samast and some defendants was dropped due to the statute of limitations. The Dink Family lawyers appealed the decision.
However, the Regional Court of Appeal decided within the context of the file that the Dink Family lawyers “did not have the right and authority to appeal the judgment regarding the nature of the crime.” The Dink Family lawyers will take the decision to the Court of Cassation. In the final verdict rendered on 26.03.2021 in the main case file where public officials were tried, the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court had also decided to file a criminal complaint against some civilian individuals, including Ogün Samast and Yasin Hayal, for the crime of “committing a crime on behalf of an organization without being a member of the organization,” and against some individuals who were public officials for the crimes of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “attempting to change the Constitutional order.”
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court with the indictment prepared on 20.03.2023 against Adem Sağlam, Ramazan Akyürek, Ali Fuat Yılmazer, Ahmet İskender, Erhan Tuncel, Ersin Yolçu, Faruk Sarı, Tuncay Uzundal, Yahya Öztürk, Yasin Hayal, and Zeynel Abidin Yavuz, regarding whom a criminal complaint had been filed.
3 days before opening this lawsuit against 11 people, that is, on 17.03.2023, the Prosecutor's Office decided to separate the investigation file regarding Ogün Samast, regarding whom a criminal complaint had been filed but who was younger than 18 at the time he committed the crime, and that the investigation continue under a different number.
However, the Prosecutor's Office had still not opened the lawsuit it needed to open against Ogün Samast on 15.11.2023, the date Ogün Samast was released from prison.
As a result of the release creating a reaction in the public opinion, the Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit against Ogün Samast on 17.11.2023, 2 days after the release, but two years and 8 months after the court decided to file a criminal complaint on March 26, 2021, demanding he be punished for the crime of “committing a crime on behalf of an organization without being a member of the organization.” The filed lawsuit was merged with the case file where other adult individuals, regarding whom the court had filed a criminal complaint, were being tried, and the trial continued.
In this trial continuing with the case file Numbered 2023/48 E. of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court, the final verdict was rendered on 10.01.2025. In this verdict, in summary, it was decided that the case opened against defendants Ahmet İskender, Erhan Tuncel, Ersin Yolcu, Tuncay Uzundal, Yasin Hayal, and Ogün Samast for the crime of "committing a crime on behalf of an armed terrorist organization without being a member of the armed terrorist organization" pursuant to TPC 314/2 via reference to TPC 220/6 be DROPPED DUE TO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, that defendants Ali Fuat Yılmazer and Ramazan Akyürek be punished under Article 309 of the TPC, and that Adem Sağlam be punished for organization membership.
An objection was filed to the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court on 05.05.2025 by the lawyers for the intervening party against the decision given in the file Numbered 2023/48 Basis of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court.
Hülya Deveci, one of the Dink Family lawyers, stated in her statement to Agos: “The Istanbul Regional Court of Justice 2nd Penal Chamber decided on 04.11.2025 to reject our objection on the grounds that we ‘did not have the right and authority to appeal the judgment in terms of the nature of the crime.’ The content of the decision is exactly as follows: ‘Since it is understood that the attorney of Arat Dink, Delal Dink, Hasrof Dink, Rahil Dink, and Sera Dink Nazarıan, who were not directly harmed by the crime due to the nature of the crimes charged against the defendants and therefore did not have the right to participate in the case, did not have the right and authority to appeal the judgment regarding the crime of Committing a Crime on Behalf of an Organization Without Being a Member of an Armed Terrorist Organization, it was decided to REJECT the appeal request due to lack of standing pursuant to Article 279/1-b of the CMP,’ effectively. As the lawyers for the intervening party, we will appeal this decision to the Court of Cassation.”
