The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has decided to open a new investigation against Ogün Samast, the self-confessed murderer of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink – shot in the head in 2007 outside the “Agos” newspaper where he worked as chief-editor – who was released from prison last week on parole after serving 16 years: a release that has sparked widespread criticism in Turkish society, which mobilised massively in the wake of the crime. Some voices within the government itself have already expressed their disagreement and the need for reforms in the judicial system.
According to Turkish media reports, Turkish prosecutors are now seeking a prison sentence of up to 12 years for Samast for “committing a crime on behalf of an armed terrorist organisation of which he was not a member”. Among other evidence, the indictment includes statements made in 2014 by Samast himself from prison, in which he pointed as instigators of the crime to Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, two individuals allegedly linked to the FETÖ organisation, which Turkish authorities accuse of instigating the failed 2016 coup.
A juvenile court – given that at the time of committing the crime in question, Hrant Dink’s killer was 17 years old – must now review the prosecution’s request to open a new investigation and criminal proceedings. In 2011, the same court already sentenced Samast to life imprisonment without parole for the premeditated murder of Dink, but due to his age the sentence was later reduced to 21 years. In addition, Samast received an additional sentence of 5 years and 1 month for attacking prison guards.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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