Dink's family's lawyer, Fethiye Çetin, said the government's move to reach a settlement with the Dink family and a Justice Ministry pledge to correct Turkey's defense is significant in terms of political, humanitarian and moral aspects.
The Dink family is a plaintiff in an ongoing case before the European Court of Human Rights against Turkey that sparked fierce debate after a controversial official statement submitted to the court by the government was recently disclosed. The disclosure of the Turkish state's defense of Dink's infamous trial for “insulting Turkishness” has caused embarrassment for the government, which says expanding rights and freedoms is a priority. The official defense, which was presented to the European Court of Human Rights in November 2009 and whose content was revealed in the media earlier this month, cited the case of a leader of a neo-Nazi organization in Europe while defending the trial of Dink under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). “We will ask for a friendly settlement,” Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin told the NTV news channel in an interview broadcast live on Wednesday. “The state could not protect [Dink's] right to live,” Ergin also said.
Çetin also noted that the government's settlement move may turn out to be a milestone for Turkey's democratization.
“Serious steps may be taken to find out those behind Dink's murder as well as for the investigation of public officials whose negligence played a role in Dink's murder,” she said.
