Turkish nationalist Ogun Samast, who killed the editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Hrant Dink on January 19, 2007 in broad daylight, may soon be released.
According to the Turkish news website T24, Samast, who has served 13 years and 5 months of his prison sentence, has 1 year and 9 months left on his prison term. However, he can be paroled in 9 months.
At the same time, the trial of a number of senior law enforcement officers continues in the Dink murder case. The Dink family and lawyers representing her interests continue to insist that the murder was pre-planned and that the law enforcement agencies, aware of the impending assassination attempt, did not prevent it.
The next hearing in the Dink murder case is scheduled for July 7.