Epress.am News from Armenia
In a move that disappointed many who were expecting justice to be served in the murder case of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, an İstanbul court early this week decided to send Dink’s hitman, Ogün Samast, to juvenile court because he was below the age of 18 when he committed the murder in 2007, writes columnist Fatma Dişli Zıbak in Today’s Zaman.
An amendment to the Counterterrorism Law (TMK), which was enacted to prevent children who throw stones at security forces during illegal demonstrations from receiving long prison sentences, surprisingly benefited Samast, making his referral to a juvenile court possible. This latest court verdict has dashed hopes further concerning justice being served in the Dink murder case and bringing the masterminds of the murder to light.
“Would you call this a twist of fate or the ‘deep realities’ of this country? No matter what you say, it is obvious that we are faced with a situation that hurts one’s conscience,” says Radikal’s Oral Çalışlar over the court’s decision about Dink’s hitman.
At a time when a majority of the stone-throwing children, who are victims of the TMK, are still in jail, and they wage a legal battle to benefit from the amended articles of the TMK, Çalışlar says it is very extraordinary — even under Turkey’s circumstances — for the court to treat Samast as a minor and send him to a juvenile court. As a person who has followed the Dink case for a long time, he says he’s not very hopeful about justice being served in the case and that he feels a deep helplessness as does Dink’s family.
Yeni Şafak’s Ali Bayramoğlu, who follows the Dink case not only as a journalist but also as a co-plaintiff, says Samast is very likely to be released soon as he will be tried in a juvenile court.
“One day we can come across Samast while walking in the street. While the Dink case is still in progress, and the European Court of Human Rights has not yet handled it, Samast may follow the story and the case of the man he killed from his TV at home,” says Bayramoğlu.
Drawing attention to the irony of Samast benefiting from an amendment that was made for stone-throwing children, Bayramoğlu warns that this amendment should not turn into something that produces under-age killers.
Considering that Samast committed one of the biggest political murders in the country, Vatan’s Okay Gönensin says the referral of Samast to a juvenile court after four years will go down in history as one of the court’s most embarrassing moments.
He also thinks Samast will be released soon and that the public will slowly forget this murder — as planned by its masterminds.
“Yet, there is something the masterminds of this murder should keep in mind — there are some in this society who will not let this murder be forgotten,” says Gönensin.