Washington, DC – 19 January 2007 - The Armenian Assembly of America was shocked and appalled to learn of the tragic murder of one of the most prominent Armenian voices in Turkey, Hrant Dink, who was gunned down outside his newspaper office in Istanbul, Turkey, in what was a blatant political assassination. Dink was frequently and unfairly targeted by Turkish nationalists who labeled him a “traitor” for his public statements on the Armenian Genocide.
The Assembly condemns the Turkish authorities for their failure to provide a safer political environment for Armenians in Turkey, despite repeated calls from the United States, the European Union and human rights groups urging Ankara to improve conditions for minorities in the country. Turkey is currently home to some 60,000 Armenians.
The Assembly also remains deeply troubled by Ankara’s refusal to heed international calls to abolish Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which stifles freedom of speech and criminalizes public discussion of the Armenian Genocide. Hrant Dink himself stood trial several times for his public comments on the genocide and was convicted in October 2006 for “insulting Turkishness” under the much-criticized law. He received a six-month suspended sentence and was set to appear in court again in March 2007 for telling a foreign journalist that the events of 1915 constituted genocide.
When prosecutors in Istanbul announced the new “denigration” charges, Amnesty International expressed dismay, saying “the organization considers that this prosecution is part of an emerging pattern of harassment against the journalist exercising his right to freedom of expression – a right which Turkey, as a State Party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has a legal obligation to uphold.”
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), “in the last 15 years, 18 other Turkish journalists have been killed for their work, making [Turkey] the eighth deadliest country in the world for journalists.” CPJ research further shows that “journalists, academic, and others have been subjected to pervasive legal harassment for statements that allegedly insult the Turkish identity.”
“It is past time for Turkey to reform its laws and take serious steps to protect the rights of all its citizens,” said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. “No other human being in Turkey should have to pay the price with his life for his government’s lack of resolve to uphold the rule of law and respect for human rights.”
The Armenian Assembly also calls on the United States, as a world leader, to end the vicious cycle of genocide denial in Turkey by adopting a congressional resolution reaffirming this fact of world history.
Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly, said that “sadly 92 years after the start of the Armenian Genocide, Hrant Dink is now the latest victim of Turkey’s outrageous campaign of denial and intolerance.”
“In light of this terrible tragedy, it is all the more inappropriate for the Administration to oppose congressional reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,” added Hovnanian.
“In memory of Hrant Dink, we reaffirm our commitment to fight for universal reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,” Hovnanian continued.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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Editor’s Note: For more information, please see the fact sheet below provided by the Armenian National Institute.
Hrant Dink
(1954-2007)
Hrant Dink was one of the most prominent figures of the Armenian community in Turkey. In 1996 Dink founded a newspaper called Agos in order to reach the Turkish-speaking members of the Armenian community. He served as the newspaper’s editor in chief.
On October 7, 2005, Hrant Dink was given a six-month suspended prison sentence after a trial in Shishli Second Criminal Court. He was prosecuted under Article 301 of the new Turkish criminal code which makes criticism of “Turkish national identity” a criminal offense. The Turkish criminal code was adopted as part of Turkey’s EU accession requirement. Hrant Dink appealed the court’s verdict and the suspended sentence and is seeking an acquittal.
On February 24, 2006, the prosecutor’s office at the Appeals Court found fault with the lower court’s decision and ordered a new trial.
On May 1, 2006, despite the prosecutor’s recommendation to overrule the lower court, the Court of Appeals in Istanbul (Supreme Court of Appeals Ninth Bureau) turned down the appeal, thereby upholding the lower court’s verdict.
On May 16, 2006, Dink was in court again to face a new charge of “attempting to influence the judiciary,” which carries a possible sentence of up to three years. Charges were also filed against three other Agos associates, including Serkis Seropyan the publisher of Agos, Aydin Engin a Turkish journalist, and Arat Dink, the son of Hrant Dink. The trial began on July 4, but due to a courtroom melee was adjourned until December. A second indictment under article 301 was filed against Dink in September.
In the meantime, on June 6, 2006, the Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, the highest prosecutor’s office in Turkey, argued that Dink had not committed any crime and that the Court of Appeals annulment of the suspension was wrong.
Hrant Dink was assassinated on January 19, 2007, in front of the office of the Agos newspaper in Istanbul, Turkey. He was born in Malatya, Turkey, on September 15, 1954.
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Amnesty International issued the following statement on September 26, 2006.
Turkey: Journalist targeted yet again
Amnesty International is dismayed at today’s news that yet another case has been opened against journalist Hrant Dink on charges of “denigrating Turkishness” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. The organization considers that this prosecution is part of an emerging pattern of harassment against the journalist exercising his right to freedom of expression -- a right which Turkey, as a State Party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has a legal obligation to uphold.
The latest charge against Hrant Dink was brought following a statement he made to Reuters news agency, in which he reportedly said of massacres of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire, “Of course I’m saying it’s a genocide, because its consequences show it to be true and label it so. We see that people who had lived on this soil for 4000 years were exterminated by these events.” Amnesty International is particularly concerned at this latest prosecution, the third against Hrant Dink on charges under Article 301, because it seems to constitute a pattern of judicial harassment against the writer for peacefully expressing his dissenting opinion. Furthermore, he has already been given a six-month suspended prison sentence following an October 2005 conviction on charges of “denigrating Turkishness” (upheld by the Court of Appeal in July 2006), and therefore if found guilty again on the same charge would be imprisoned. Should he be, Amnesty International would consider him a prisoner of conscience.
Amnesty International considers this latest prosecution to be particularly disappointing following the welcome acquittal four days ago of another writer, novelist Elif Safak, on charges under Article 301 relating to statements made by characters in her novel The Bastard of Istanbul. The organization had seen this as a positive step for freedom of expression in Turkey but fears this acquittal may prove to be the exception rather than the rule and demonstrates yet again the failure of certain members of the Turkish judiciary and prosecution to internalize international law, as required by Article 90 of the Turkish constitution. The organization reiterates its call for Article 301 to be abolished in its entirety, thereby putting an end to arbitrary implementation of this ill-defined law.
Finally, Amnesty International notes that this prosecution reportedly arises from a complaint lodged by elements of civil society opposed to the abolition of Article 301, who have lodged similar complaints in the past seeking to secure such prosecutions and who have repeatedly staged provocative and sometimes violent protests at trials, creating a threatening atmosphere in the courtroom. The organization calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure that all necessary measures are taken to ensure the protection both of the defendants, their lawyers and supporters in such cases, and of the course of justice itself.
For further information about Amnesty International’s concerns regarding Article 301 please see Turkey: Article 301: How the law on “denigrating Turkishness” is an insult to free expression (AI Index: EUR 44/003/2006).
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