Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Dreams of the Turkish Judiciary

"The [terrorist] organization was apparently Hayal [dream in Turkish]" is the headline of today's Radikal, referring to the verdict in the court case about the murder of Hrant Dink.

The court decided that Yasin Hayal, who was handed down an aggravated life sentence on charges of instigation to premeditated murder, was simply acting on his own when he "provoked" Ogün Samast to murder Hrant Dink.

Erhan Tuncel, a police and gendarmerie informant, whom Yasin Hayal accused of planning the assassination, was acquitted of all charges related to the murder of Hrant Dink. Tuncel claimed that he had informed the police of Hayal's plans many times.

During the trial process, Dink family's lawyers brought to the attention of the court several pieces of evidence pointing out the connections of the suspects with wider circles reaching into the state apparatus. Yet the court proved to be very reluctant to follow them up.

While the Turkish judiciary is trying generals for attempted coups, it seems to be dreaming about minors assassinating Armenian-Turkish journalists on the instigation of individuals acting on their own despite mounting evidence suggesting "deep state" connections. Such double standards continue to undermine public trust in the judiciary in Turkey.

To read a report on the final session of the trial, visit Bianet; For a short analysis by Amnesty International, visit their webpage; for some of the new evidence the Dink family lawyers brought to the attention of the court recently, see an earlier report on Bianet.