In Turkey, Hrant Dink's killers sentenced to life imprisonment

On January 17, the Turkish court sentenced the two persons accused of involvement in the murder of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish newspaper "Agos", printed in Istanbul, to lifelong imprisonment.

Let us remind you that Hrant Dink was shot dead in Istanbul on January 19, 2007. He wrote about the Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1915. About 20 persons have faced the trial. Last July, the Turkish court sentenced the direct gunman Ogust Samast to 21 years and 10 months in prison.

Following Samast, Erhan Tundjel and Yasin Khayal were arrested, under whose instructions the killer had allegedly acted. Khayal said at one of the court sessions that high-ranking persons in power had been involved in Dink's murder, and he could be liquidated as an unwanted witness.

Nineteen persons had figured in Hrant Dink's murder case; and only two of them - Tundjel and Khayal - remained in custody by the end of the trial. The prosecution had initially demanded life imprisonment for them. This particular verdict was announced by the court at the end of the trial, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

In late 2011, Erhan Tundjel said that in case Dink's murder was solved, the military putsch in Turkey in 1980 would also be solved, the "1in.am" reports.

Fethiye Cetin, the lawyer of the Dink family, has criticized the decision of the court, noting that the decision fails to associate the state with Dink's murder in 2007. "During the trial, which lasted for 5 years, they just laughed at us. We did not expect that they will leave the biggest joke for the last minute," the lawyer said after announcement of the verdict.

"This decision means that one tradition has remained constant - the state tradition of political assassinations, which is used by the state to discriminate some of its citizens and turn them into enemies," Mr Cetin has added.

He also promised to use all possible legal means against the decision of the court, and ensured that the first instance court is only the initial stage of Hrant Dink's case, the "Tert.am" reports with reference to the Turkish edition "Today's Zaman".