Key Witnesses to Give New Testimonies in Hrant Dink Murder Probe

ISTANBUL — The investigation into the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is set to start again from square one, as the new prosecutor in the case, Muammer Akkas, has collected new testimonies and asked for the re-interrogation of key witnesses, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Akkas, who was previously one of the prosecutors in the Ergenekon coup plot case, has decided to deepen the Dink investigation, Dogan News Agency reported April 26. Ten new witnesses, including police and gendarmerie officers, have recently given their testimony, the report said.

The Prosecutor’s Office also analyzed the testimonies of key witnesses – including those of triggerman Ogün Samast and Yasin Hayal, who was convicted for being the instigator of the murder – and found a number of inconsistencies. Along with Samast and Hayal, Ersin Yolcu and Ahmet Iskender, who were both convicted for complicity in the murder, as well as Erhan Tuncel, a former suspect acquitted in the trial, were also asked to give new testimonies.

Following a five year trial, the court had ruled on Jan. 17, 2012, that it saw no “deep state” role in the plotting of the assassination, despite serious claims that a number of civil servants were “indirectly” involved. The ruling was overturned a year later by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which led to prosecutors restarting their probe into the murder.

Dink, the renowned chief editor of Agos, was shot in front of his office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.