The Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court has issued the detailed ruling on the case of the murder of journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, Bianet reports.
Thirty-seven defendants were acquitted, 26 were given prison sentences and the files of 13 defendants were separated at the final hearing of the case on March 26.
The 4,532-page ruling attributes the murder to the “Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ),” which is also held responsible or the 2016 coup attempt.
Former police chiefs Faruk Sarı, Ramazan Akyürek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer had acted in unison, considering the interests of the FETÖ and the latter two were also responsible for the premeditation of the killing and tried to hinder the investigations by using their power coming from the FETÖ, according to the court ruling.
“It has been understood that instead of taking the necessary precautions and making an intervention with respect to their positions, they ensured that the murder took place … and recordings and documents are destroyed …” the court stated.
Muharrem Demirkale, a former commander of İstanbul Gendarmerie Intelligence, had his subordinates carry out reconnaissance around Dink’s home and workplace before the murder, the court noted. Demirakale and Yılmazer were in contact, it said.
On the day of the killing, Dink was followed by people who reported to Demirkale, according to the ruling.
The FETÖ also intended to defame the gendarmerie by associating it with the killing, said the court.
Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of Agos, a weekly newspaper in Armenian and Turkish, was shot dead in front of the newspaper’s office in Şişli, İstanbul, on January 19, 2007.
