Intervention of Agos Newspaper Attorneys in "Cage Action Plan" Case

The Armenian weekly Agos newspaper prepared to become joint plaintiffs of the "Cage Action Plan". The plan was supposedly worked out as a coup plan by the Naval Forces, targeting non-Muslims and aiming to charge them of their religious beliefs.

In today's first hearing (15 June) at the Istanbul 12^th High Criminal Court, the joint attorneys of the weekly will apply for acceptance as a joint plaintiff.

The "Cage Action Plan" was revealed by Taraf newspaper in its issue from 19 November 2009. It described spectacular plots against religious minorities in Turkey in order to overthrow the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The plan included the assassinations of Turkish-Armenian Agos chief editor Hrant Dink, Priest Santoro and three employees of the Zirve Publishing company in Malatya as "operations".

The founder of Agos newspaper, Hrant Dink, was killed in front of his office in January 2007.

"Agos, minorities and non-Muslims were targeted"

The Agos newspaper and non-Muslims were included in the plan as "primary targets". It had been announced that the plan furthermore comprised a list of the names and addresses of Agos subscribers living on the Princess Islands off the Asian coast of Istanbul.

The joint attorneys of the Armenian weekly said that the address list of the subscribers was published in the internet, that they received threatening phone calls and e-mails, and that threatening slogans were sprayed on walls in particular on the islands. All this was mentioned in the plan as actions within the scope of "terrifying propaganda".

Additionally, the "Cage Action Plan" includes actions such as placing noise bombs in the region around the Agos office in Şişli (Istanbul) and on the islands, assassinations of religious leaders and leaders of religious congregations, sending threatening messages to churches and schools attended by children with a file at the police and announcing bomb threats.

"Which stage of the plan was the Dink murder?"

Agos lawyer Fethiye Çetin stated that becoming joint plaintiffs would be an important step in the struggle of perceiving minorities as equal citizens. She called on human rights organizations and all non-governmental organizations to support the case.

"The so-called 'time slot C' of the plan is very important for the Dink case. This means that there must be time slots A and B as well. It is likely that these time slots contain crucial information on the murder of Hrant Dink and the other 'operations'. Becoming joint plaintiffs of the trial means to participate in the investigations into these points", Çetin stated.

The previous application of the lawyers to be accepted as joint plaintiffs in the case related to a weapon cache found in Poyrazköy (Istanbul) was dismissed. The court had directed them to the "Cage" trial. (EÖ/TK/VK)