Turkish court releases 5 suspects in Hrant Dink case

By Murat Kaya and Muhammed Enes Can

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on Friday ordered the release of five suspects in a murder probe into the killing of prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007.

Istanbul 14th Criminal Court said the then Gendarmerie Forces staff Bekir Yokus, Ecevit Emir, Emre Cingoz, Haci Serif Simsek and Seref Ates were free to go.

The court said the five men were being released as "the information in the Historical Traffic Search (HTS) records do not match the date, time and place of the murder and that the images of the people alleged to be at the crime scene do not match with the defendants."

Other suspects in the case include the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) Fetullah Gulen, former FETO-linked prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, the former editor-in-chief of the Zaman newspaper Ekrem Dumanli as well as journalists Adem Yavuz Arslan, Faruk Mercan and Ercan Gun.

They are all charged with "intentional killing" and "attempting to upend the constitutional order".

Dink, editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was killed outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007, in a case that has stirred intrigue and conspiracy theories.

Ogun Samast was jailed for 23 years in 2011 for the killing. Samast, who was aged 17 at the time of the shooting, claimed he killed Dink for “insulting Turkishness”.

Although Samast is the only person to be jailed for the murder, speculation on the involvement of others has persisted.

In April, FETO -- which plotted last year's defeated coup of July 15 – has been officially tied to the case.

A 120-page indictment said soldiers and police involved in the Dink murder later played an active role in the coup attempt.

The next hearings will be on Jan. 29, 30 and Feb. 1, 2 next year.