Gül Promises Investigation Into the Murder of Hrant Dink

STRASBOURG — According to a report in Turkish Today’s Zaman, the State Audit Institution (DDK), a body under the President’s Office, might lead a separate investigation into the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, President Abdullah Gül has said.
Speaking to members of press organizations accompanying him during a visit to Strasbourg, Gül said that the DDK could look into the Dink murder in response to a question on that possibility.
“There is a murder trial going on, and that trial has come a long way so we never thought of (a separate investigation). But there is no such rule that says it can’t happen,” he said.
When reminded that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had found Turkey guilty of failing to protect Dink’s right to life and of failing to carry out a thorough investigation into law enforcement who failed to take the necessary measures in light of early warnings and tips about the plot to kill Dink, Gül reiterated that it was possible to order the DDK to investigate the allegations. He said the DDK did not serve as a body that interrogated suspects, but rather a body that made comprehensive investigations to share its finding with the relevant government agencies.
Gül said the murder had occurred despite a number of opportunities that came up during the assassination plan’s inception; opportunities that would have normally allowed the authorities to prevent it. He also added that it was important that at least the trial process could be completed in a manner that would leave no doubts in people’s minds.
“Also, the only way to make sure that such things do not happen again is to completely illuminate such murders,” Gül said.