"Cases Must Be Filed Against Government Personnel Immediately"

Upon evaluating assassinated Agos Newspaper Chief Editor Hrant Dink’s spouse Rakel Dink, brother Orhan Dink and children Delal Dink, Arat Dink and Sera Dink's personal application, the Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that the Dink family’s rights had been violated on grounds that "an efficient investigation has not been conducted."     

The verdict was unanimous.

One of the lawyers on the case, Hakan Bakırcıoğlu told bianet that they had not yet seen the verdict, and stated the following:

“If the decision was taken due to the lack of an effective investigation and based on the reasons behind the European Court of Human Rights’ (EHCR) ruling, the Prosecutor has to complete the investigation and prepare a bill of indictment.

"The court had not granted permission to investigate into the İstanbul and Trabzon Police Forces and overruled all our objections. As for gendarmerie personnel, permission to investigate was granted regarding only some of them.

"When we carried the issue to the EHCR, the court ruled that the Police Headquarters in Trabzon province, where the perpetrators organized the murder, and the Police Headquarters in Istanbul, the province where Hrant Dink lived and the murder took place had in coordination or separately failed to take action to prevent the murder, thereby violating the right to life.

The same observation in DDK, Inspection Board reports

"This decision emphasizes both the lack of an effective investigation, and the failure of the institutions to take the necessary precautions in order to prevent the murder.

"We have made numerous requests since the EHCR verdict, but we never got a response in this manner. Not only the EHCR, but also the Prime Ministry Inspection Board and the State Supervisory Council (DDK) reports had underscored this issue. The Prosecution must immediately file a case based on the EHCR, the Constitutional Court, and these two reports."

Two applications to the Constitutional Court

There have been two applications to the Constitutional Court about the Dink case. The first, dated November 2012, argues the lack of efficient investigation and of information on the investigation provided to the plaintiffs. The second application on March 2014 stemmed from the court’s refusal to investigate into government personnel.

In the beginning of July, Bakırköy 8^th High Criminal Court had ruled lack of grounds for legal action about government personnel allegedly implicated in the murder through negligence and intent. Ergun Güngör, Celalettin Cerrah, Ahmet İlhan Güler and six police officials can now be tried as a result of this last decision. Prosecutors will be able to launch direct investigations into the suspects without first seeking permission. (EA/PU)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.