17 April 2013 /EMRULLAH BAYRAK, ANKARA
The Supreme Court of Appeals on Wednesday postponed a hearing of an appeal case filed by Ersin Yolçu, one of the main suspects in the case of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, against a lower court's decision until May 15, when the appeals court is also expected to announce its final verdict on Yolçu.
The ninth chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals rejected a request by the lawyers of Dink's family -- İsmail Cem Halavurt and Hasan Üre -- to speak at the hearing but they were allowed to watch the proceedings. Yolçu's lawyer Feyzullah Şama said his client should be acquitted of the charges against him.
The lower court ruled in January 2012 that Yolçu was guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. A Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutor reiterated his opinion that Yolçu's sentence should be upheld during Wednesday's hearing. The suspect was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.
There will be no court hearing for the appeal of the lower court's verdict on 18 other suspects since they did not request one.
The İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court handed down a life sentence to Yasin Hayal for instigating a murder, while another suspect, Erhan Tuncel, was acquitted of murder charges in January 2012.
The İstanbul court issued its ruling in the 25th hearing of the case, ending the five-year trial in January 2012, and all the other suspects were cleared of charges of membership in a terrorist organization. Tuncel was given 10 years, six months for an unrelated McDonald's bombing in 2004.
The late editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Dink was shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007, by an ultranationalist teenager outside the offices of his newspaper in İstanbul in broad daylight. Evidence discovered since then has led to claims that the murder was linked to the “deep state,” a term used in reference to a shady group of military and civilian bureaucrats believed to have links with criminal elements.
The lower court ruled in January 2012 that Yolçu was guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. A Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutor reiterated his opinion that Yolçu's sentence should be upheld during Wednesday's hearing. The suspect was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.
There will be no court hearing for the appeal of the lower court's verdict on 18 other suspects since they did not request one.
The İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court handed down a life sentence to Yasin Hayal for instigating a murder, while another suspect, Erhan Tuncel, was acquitted of murder charges in January 2012.
The İstanbul court issued its ruling in the 25th hearing of the case, ending the five-year trial in January 2012, and all the other suspects were cleared of charges of membership in a terrorist organization. Tuncel was given 10 years, six months for an unrelated McDonald's bombing in 2004.
The late editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Dink was shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007, by an ultranationalist teenager outside the offices of his newspaper in İstanbul in broad daylight. Evidence discovered since then has led to claims that the murder was linked to the “deep state,” a term used in reference to a shady group of military and civilian bureaucrats believed to have links with criminal elements.
