Dink was the editor-in-chief of the bilingual Agos daily until he was killed in January of 2007. The 11th hearing of the murder suspects' trial took place on Monday with suspects Ogün Samast, Erhan Tuncel, Yasin Hayal, Ahmet İskender and Ersin Yolcu brought to the courtroom by prison guards. Lawyers representing the co-plaintiffs in the Dink trial have long alleged that the Dink murder was the doing of Ergenekon. In the latest hearing they also petitioned the 14th High Criminal Court to contact the prosecutors investigating Ergenekon and request a copy of documents that describe the organization's schemes against religious minorities in Turkey.
In the 11th hearing of the Dink trial on Monday, the panel of judges also took up a request from Prosecutor Öz, who proposed that the court hear a person identified as B.Ç. as a secret witness. Öz also sent B.Ç.'s earlier testimony to court where he said, “I have voice and video recordings about the Dink murder.”
Also on Monday, co-plaintiff lawyer Fethiye Çetin stated that Dink's murder, along with that of an Italian priest in 2006 and the 2007 slaying of three Christians in Malatya, was part of an operation carried out by Ergenekon. Çetin stated that the acts of some Ergenekon suspects in turning Hrant Dink into a target for ultranationalists were very “open.” She recalled that when Dink was facing charges under Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301, which then criminalized “insulting Turkishness,” some of the people who are in jail now as alleged Ergenekon members brought crowds of protestors and even attacked Dink and his supporters as they entered and left the courtroom.
In the hearing, the handgun used to shoot Dink was brought into court. The hit man, Ogün Samast, said he couldn't remember the gun. In response to a query from the presiding judge stating disbelief, Samast said: “It's been three years since. I used the gun in the incident. The last time I saw it was in Samsun.” Later, he asked to hold the gun to remember more details about it. “I can't remember fully, but it was this gun,” he said. Yasin Hayal also spoke at this time without asking for permission, confirming that this was the gun they used. “I gave it to him. Now the magazine is rusty, it used not to be.” The trial was adjourned until Feb. 8, 2010.
