Thousands in Turkey Protest Verdict in Journalist’s Murder - New York Times

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Thousands of people gathered in central Istanbul with placards in memory of the editor Hrant Dink on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of his murder.

ISTANBUL — Tens of thousands of people marched in central Istanbul on Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of the prominent journalist Hrant Dink, and to protest a Turkish criminal court's refusal this week to investigate whether the killing had resulted from a conspiracy by an illegal network.

Mourners left red carnations and signs reading "This case won't end here" at the spot where Mr. Dink, an ethnic Armenian, was shot to death on Jan. 19, 2007, outside the offices of Agos, a biweekly newspaper in Turkish and Armenian that he edited. Mr. Dink, 52, was a leading spokesman for Armenians in Turkey and an advocate for peace and minorities' rights. He campaigned relentlessly for official recognition of the killings of more than one million Armenians by the Ottoman Army in 1915.

Mr. Dink's killer was convicted and sentenced in July. On Tuesday, an Istanbul court of three judges also convicted Yasin Hayal, a militant ultranationalist of instigating Mr. Dink's murder and sentenced him to life in prison. But it acquitted 18 defendants on charges that they were part of a larger conspiracy behind the killing. Prosecutors filed an appeal on Thursday.

Public outrage against the ruling focused on what many people see as the strength of illegal factions within the government and the lack of political will that obstructed an in-depth investigation into the murder.

President Abdullah Gul and senior officials from the pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party, to which Mr. Gul belonged before his election, also expressed disappointment in the ruling.

President Gul said the case was a test for Turkey, and he urged people to remain patient until the appeals process was completed. "The conclusion of this case in transparency and fairness in line with our legislation is an important test for us," the semiofficial Anatolian News Agency quoted him as saying.

The reaction of Mr. Gul and other officials, however, failed to satisfy many in the crowd on Thursday.

"I don't believe in the sincerity of the government," Serpil Sarac, an accountant, said as she leaned against a shop window with two friends, holding signs. "They are the majority government, so if they are not able to do anything about this injustice, then who can?"

Many in the crowd shared similar concerns while they silently held signs in black that read in Turkish and Armenian: "We are all Hrant. We are all Armenian."

"This ruling hurts our public conscience so badly, when it is crystal clear that this murder was the job of an illegal network," said Aliye Ucak, an advertising salesman, as he stood directly across the street from where Mr. Dink was shot. "If state institutions like the intelligence agency or the security forces were questioned properly, there could have been a chance for a cleaner future."

Nedim Sener, an award-winning investigative journalist who wrote a book about his own investigation into Mr. Dink's murder, said senior members of the security forces and other state agencies prevented timely intelligence about Mr. Dink's murder from reaching the courts, a view held by many.

Mr. Sener has been in jail for more than 11 months on charges of aiding a terrorist organization. He says the charges are retaliation by senior state officials mentioned in his research.

The prosecution in the case joined the public outcry, issuing a rare public statement rebutting claims by the court that there was not enough evidence to prove that Mr. Dink's murder was an organized crime.

"These acquittals are against the law," the chief prosecutor, Hikmet Usta, said, according to NTV, a private broadcaster. "We want to say that there is both an organization and evidence to prove it. Actually, the evidence is more than enough."

Mr. Usta said that when the court issued its verdict, the ruling on one of the suspects had been left off, which he said showed the poor preparation of evidence in the case over five years.

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