In a statement to BosNewsLife, human rights group Amnesty International said it has called the court in Istanbul to ensure that "all the evidence and circumstances be considered."
However after a 12-hour hearing on Monday, July 2, the court already released four of the 18 suspects implicated in the killing of Hrant Dink, who was gunned down on January 19, until the resumption of the trial on October 1.
His killing came after Dink, 53, angered Turkish nationalists by using the term "genocide" to describe the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenian as well as Assyrian and Hellenic Christians carried out by Turkish Ottoman forces in the 1915-1917 period.
GOVERNMENT DENIAL
Turkey’s government has denied the figure or the involvement of Turkish forces in mass killings and rejects the term "genocide," saying no more than 300,000 Armenians perished at the time, mostly from hunger and disease.
The trial is taking place behind closed doors because the alleged gunman, Ogun Samast, is a minor. Lawyer Bahri Belen, representing Dink’s family, told reporters that the court agreed to broaden the investigation.
In published statements two of the key suspects, Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, claimed they worked for the security forces. The alleged gunman has remained silent during the trial, according to observers.
Amnesty International said it was concerned about developments in the case. "The Turkish authorities must ensure that, in examining the case, no stone is left unturned. All those involved in the killing of Hrant Dink — those actively involved in planning and carrying out the fatal attack and those who failed to prevent it — must be brought to justice," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s researcher on Turkey.
INREASING PATTERN
"Hrant Dink’s killing took place in the context of an increasing pattern of deadly intolerance of freedom of expression." The trial began amid reports of renewed pressure on minority Christians in this mainly Muslim nation.
Two Turkish Christians have reportedly been accused of “insulting Turkish identity” under the nation’s notorious Article 301, the same charge used in 2005 by a Turkish court to sentence Dink to six months imprisonment.
Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, both former Muslims, were summoned to Istanbul’s Beyoglu police headquarters on Sunday morning, July 1, just before church services began at the Taksim Protestant Church, where Tastan is a member, news reports said.
An administrative district authority in Istanbul reportedly ordered the converts from Islam to pay a fine for “illegal collection of funds” after they allegedly collected money without permission from local authorities.
In a statement released by Christian news agency Compass Direct News, the men’s attorney, Haydar Polat described the charges as "ridiculous." He said the case had "nothing whatever to do with the original case" against his clients. (With reporting from Turkey and BosNewsLife Research).
