Bianet Is On Trial For A News Report About Hrant Dink

The lawsuit filed by police officer Muhittin Zenit for damages against bianet.org for reporting the telephone conversation between Zenit and Erhan Tuncel about Hrant Dink’s murder will be held tomorrow (November 12). Tuncel is on trial for instigating the murder of Hrant Dink.

Zenit is suing bianet.org for the news reports appeared on the site on September 30, 2007 under the title “Vurulacak Şekil Belliydi” (How he was going to be shot was known) and on April 28, 2008 under the title “Dink Cinayetinde Yeni Kanıt: Muhsin Başkan’la Yasin Konusunda Görüşeceğiz” (New evidence in Dink’s murder: We will converse with President Muhsin about Yasin). The amount Zenit is asking for damages is 25000 YTL (about 12500 Euro).

Zenit is for 60.000 euro from bianet and the NTV

The case will be held at Ankara’s 25th Civil Court of First Instance on November 12. Bianet had claimed that Erhan Tuncel had spoken with Zenith on telephone about Great Union Party (BBP) President Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu’s program regarding his visit to Trabzon. Later it was realized a mistake was made when the news was taken from ntvmsnbs.com and bianet had published an apology for writing that Tuncel had met with Zenith rather than with Memduh Brother.

Bianet had also published a Doğan News Agency (DHA) report by Murat Utku about one hour forty-seven minute long telephone conversation between police officer Zenit and one of the alleged conspirators of Dink’s murder, Erhan Tuncel.

While Zenit talks about the details of the murder and congratulates those who did it in the telephone conversation, Tuncel denies any responsibility for it.

Zenit appears in these news reports as telling Tuncel during a phone conversation that “What, they shot him from the head…This is the only difference. He was not going to run away, but this one did.”

Zenit’s lawsuit against the TV channel NTV for damages in the amount of 45 thousand euro continues at Ankara’s 1st Criminal Court of First Instance. The next hearing will be on December 12.

Neither legal nor administrative investigation is launched against Zenit

Denying the allegations about his involvement in Hrant Dink’s murder, Zenit indicated that the case against him was dismissed by Trabzon’s Chief Prosecutor and the objection to this decision was likewise denied by Rize’s High Criminal Court. The same process had repeated itself when Trabzon Governor had refused to give permission for Zenit’s investigation and the objection to the governor’s decision was rejected by Trabzon’s Regional Administrative Court. (EÖ/TK/TB)