Former Intelligence Officer Admits Neglect of Police in Dink Murder

Former Head of the Intelligence Department Sabri Uzun gave his statement in yesterday's (15 April) hearing of the case against journalist Nedim Şener. Facing prison sentence of up to 32.5 years in total, Şener stands trial in three different cases launched on the grounds of his book "The Dink Murder and the Intelligence Lies".

In the book, he writes about the negligence and attempts to cover up this negligence of gendarmerie, police and the Turkish secret service prior to the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007.

In the hearing held at the 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance, Uzun stated that he had no information about the planned killing of Hrant Dink, then editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos newspaper, since he did not have access to the reports collected from the agents before they had been archived. Without mentioning his name directly, Uzun claimed that C Branch Manager Ali Fuat Yılmazer kept the report from him intentionally.

Uzun: Incriminating information was archived before I could get access

"Related to the period of time Şener is describing in his book, I said that 'if the state holds responsibility for the murder of Hrant Dink, this is my responsibility', and that is true. There was the written report notifying about a 'crucial action to be done' which referred to the planned murder of Dink. If this report had reached me before it was archived, this would not have happened".

Şener faces imprisonment of up to 28 under charges of "identifying officials on anti-terrorist duties as targets". The criminal complaint against the journalist was filed by Ramazan Akyürek, then Chief of Police in Trabzon (Black Sea coast), Ali Fuat Yılmazer, C Branch Manager of the Police Intelligence, intelligence police officer Muhittin Zenit and Intelligence Branch Manager of the Trabzon Police Directorate Faruk Sarı.

"They should have informed me by all means"

The lawyers of complainant Zenit asked Uzun whether he decided for protection after every new report coming in. Uzun replied, "We do not request protection with every report coming in, but we are talking about killing here. This is serious. Reports related to planned assassinations come in once a year or even more rarely. Such a report might only come in once in ten years. If it comes in, the police and the intelligence are obliged to meet to discuss the matter and take a decision".

Nedim Şener criticized the question of the lawyers, putting forward that the murder of Dink was a "project worked out by the police". "Dink was on trial at the time, he was in the public eye the whole time", Sener said.

Uzun stated: "I called inspector Mustafa Üçkuyu regarding the News Report (F4) dd. 17 February 2006 which mentioned Hrant Dink and asked if there was any further information. Üçkuyu answered that the report had a note saying 'transfer of assignment to the C2 office'. I made a written statement about this on 4 November 2009 and wrote that the Police Intelligence performed the duty. The full report reached me only later on though".

"The inspectors had told me that the report included the information that a 'startling action' was planned related to Hrant Dink. I was astonished when I had read the full report because it did not only mention a startling action but comprised information on Dink to be killed and on weapons and money provided for this. I wrote a supplementary statement on 4 December 2009. I wrote that 'I had not seen the report on 17 February 2006 when I was Head of Department. It had been kept from me by the C Branch Manager'".

"The information of my book got confirmed"

Journalist Şener talked to bianet after the hearing:

"Sabri Uzun made statement that confirmed what I have written in my book and went even further. This is why I consider his statement as very important. In my book I wrote that Head of the Intelligence Department Ramazan Akyürek and C Branch Manager Ali Fuat Yılmazer neglected their duties. Uzun spoke as a former head of department at the time when the murder of Dink was being planned. He said, 'yes, the department neglected this duty, because these reports were kept from me'. I hope that this information will bring light into the Dink murder case". (BT/VK)