Lawyer Hakan Bakırcıoğlu assessed the most recent state of the Hrant Dink murder investigation for Agos following former Intelligence Branch Chief Ramazan Akyürek’s arrest: “There are many public officials which should be indicted for premeditated murder. The Dink murder is a murder carried out by consensus, and parties to this consensus share total and collective responsibility. Ramazan Akyürek is only one of the public officials who played a significant role in this murder.”
Former Intelligence Branch Chief Ramazan Akyürek has been arrested within the scope of the continuing investigation into the role of public officials in the Hrant Dink murder. Akyürek has been arrested on charges of “premeditated murder by negligence”, “wrongful conduct” and “forgery of official documents”.
In his testimony to investigating prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü, Akyürek claimed that he had carried out his duty based on a single official letter he sent on 15 February 2006 to the Security General Directorate.
A single report
The Intelligence Report dated 15 February 2006 that Akyürek presents as the basis of his defence states that Yasin Hayal has a great hatred of Armenians, plans to murder Hrant Dink, and that he is determined and has the potential to carry out such an action. However, following the presentation of this report, the necessary procedures and operation were not carried out.
No other official procedure took place during Akyürek’s term regarding the Dink murder.
Akyürek’s term in Trabzon
A number of criminal events took place during Akyürek’s term in Trabzon. On 24 October 2004, a branch of McDonald’s was bombed. The bombing could not be prevented, and in the aftermath, the organisation behind the bombing could not be unearthed. Erhan Tuncel, a perpetrator of the bombing, was unlawfully made an Assistant Intelligence Employee during Akyürek’s term. He was discharged in 2006.
Akyürek had previously provided a testimony to the investigating prosecutor on 2 October 2014, and had stated that he did not know Erhan Tuncel, and that Tuncel had been appointed by the current Intelligence Branch Director Engin Dinç.
Father Andrea Santoro, the Roman Catholic priest of the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon was murdered on 5 February 2006. At the time of Santoro’s murder, Ramazan Akyürek was the Trabzon Provincial Police Chief, and Engin Dinç was the Intelligence Branch Director.
4 arrests in total
On 13 January 2015, Muhittin Zenit, police officer, and Muhittin Zenit, police chief, both stationed at the Trabzon Intelligence Branch Directorate were arrested within the scope of the continuing investigation into the role of public officials in the Hrant Dink murder.
On January 18, the Cizre Police Chief Ercan Demir was also arrested.
Faruk Sarı, Trabzon Police Directorate Intelligence Branch Director at the time of the Dink murder, was referred to the court with a request for his arrest on 24 December 2014, however, he was released under judicial control.
Dinç has still not provided testimony
From the Trabzon Police Directorate officials investigated within the scope of the continuing investigation into the role of public officials in the Hrant Dink murder, everyone apart from Engin Dinç, the current Security General Directorate Intelligence Branch Chief, have provided testimonies. Although the Prosecutor’s Office has acted for Ramazan Akyürek, Reşat Altay, Faruk Sarı, Ercan Demir, Muhittin Zenit, Özkan Mumcu and Mehmet Ayhan, there has been no summons for Dinç to provide testimony.
