Retrial begins in Hrant Dink murder case following Court of Cassation reversal

The court, which decided to comply with the Court of Cassation's reversal ruling, accepted the request of the complainant Presidency to join the case on the grounds that it may have been harmed by the crime of "violating the Constitution."

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Retrial begins in Hrant Dink murder case following Court of Cassation reversal

The retrial of 78 defendants, including FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen, former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, journalists, and former gendarmerie and police officers, in connection with the murder of Agos Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink, has begun following the Court of Cassation's reversal ruling regarding 15 of the defendants.

Seven detained defendants connected to the hearing at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) from the prisons where they are held. The hearing was attended by defense attorneys, lawyers for the Dink family, and a lawyer representing the Presidency.

Following the reading of the reversal ruling by the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the defendants were given the floor. The defendants requested that the court not comply with the reversal ruling.

"I WAS DECLARED A SCAPEGOAT"

In his defense during the hearing, detained defendant and former non-commissioned officer Yavuz Karakaya stated that his prosecution in the case stemmed from his assignment in Istanbul at the time of the murder, saying, "I was not tried fairly or equally. I was made a scapegoat. There is not a single witness, tape recording, or tip-off that reveals my participation in the crime. While I was being tried without arrest, I suddenly received the highest level of punishment and was arrested. I do not know what evidence was added to the file that led to my arrest while I was being tried without detention. Years later, I was declared guilty, and then evidence was sought retroactively. Synthetic evidence was presented."

"IT HAS IGNORED US"

When asked for their opinion, the public prosecutor requested that the detention status of the defendants be continued.

Bahri Belen, one of the lawyers for the Dink family, argued that there was a 131-page evidence folder in the file, but that the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation had not seen them. Lawyer Belen stated, "It has ignored us as an intervening party and said nothing about our requests. We, too, have nothing to say regarding this decision of the Court of Cassation."

Announcing its interim decision, the court panel decided to comply with the Court of Cassation's reversal ruling.

The panel, which accepted the request of the complainant Presidency to join the case on the grounds that it may have been harmed by the crime of "violating the Constitution," ruled for the continuation of the detention of defendants Gazi Günay, Hasan Durmuşoğlu, Muharrem Demirkale, Okan Şimşek, Osman Gülbel, Veysal Şahin, and Yavuz Karakaya.

The panel decided to grant the parties a 1-month period to submit their statements regarding the request for the separation of their files and, following an evaluation made between sessions, decided to send the file to the prosecutor's office to prepare its opinion.

The panel, which decided to await the execution of the arrest warrant for defendant Faruk Sarı, adjourned the hearing to January 10, 2024.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

On March 26, 2021, the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court concluded the trial of 78 defendants, including 6 in detention and 13 fugitives, among them FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen, former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, journalists, and former gendarmerie and police officers, regarding the murder of Agos Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink.

While the court sentenced 26 defendants, including detained former public officials Ramazan Akyürek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer, to prison terms ranging from 3 years and 4 months to aggravated life imprisonment, it issued dismissal, acquittal, and rejection decisions for 39 defendants, including former Intelligence Department Head Sabri Uzun and the then-Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah.

The court panel also separated the files of 13 fugitive defendants, including FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen, Ekrem Dumanlı, and Zekeriya Öz, for whom arrest warrants had been issued.

The convicted defendants and the lawyers for the Dink family, who argued that the sentences were insufficient, appealed the decision, and the file was handled by the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.

On May 5, 2022, the Chamber examined the appeals filed by the defendants, their lawyers, and the intervening parties, and found the local court's decision to be in accordance with procedure and law.

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation announced its decision on June 21 regarding the file, for which it had conducted an appellate review for 62 defendants.

The Chamber upheld the aggravated life sentences given to former police chiefs Ali Fuat Yılmazer and Ramazan Akyürek for the crime of "premeditated murder," and while it upheld some of the convictions for "premeditated murder," "aiding and abetting premeditated murder," "membership in an armed terrorist organization," and "aiding an armed terrorist organization" for other defendants, it reversed the sentences of some defendants, finding them insufficient.

In this context, the Chamber sent the file back to the local court regarding the defendants for whom it issued a reversal ruling: former officer Muharrem Demirkale, former Trabzon Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Ali Öz, Osman Gülbel, Yavuz Karakaya, Bekir Yokuş, Hasan Durmuşoğlu, Faruk Sarı, Mehmet Ayhan, Onur Karakaya, Okan Şimşek, Gazi Günay, Veysal Şahin, Volkan Şahin, Şükrü Yıldız, and Mehmet Ali Özkılınç.

News Source: AA