TURKEY: MALATYA MURDER TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY AMID

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002837

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: MALATYA MURDER TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY AMID
MASSIVE SECURITY

REF: A. ADANA 56

B. ANKARA 933

Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4 (b),(d
)


1. (C) Summary: The high-profile trial of seven men accused
of the April murder of three Christian bookstore workers in
the southeastern city of Malatya began on November 23. Five
defendants face multiple life sentences for murder and
terrorist acts; two others are charged with assisting in the
planning. Friends of the victims and their families came en
masse from cities across Turkey to show their support, but
police prevented them from entering the tiny courtroom
assigned for this "open" trial. Inside the court, the air
bristled with tension -- the three widows sat uncomfortably
near the defendants and their fathers, all surrounded by a
small army of heavily armed police and Jandarma. Two widows
described for the court their anguish since the murders.
Attorneys for the victims' families argued that the brutal
murders constituted "hate crimes" and "genocide." These
attorneys later told us that even though they expect the
court to sentence all five main defendants to life in prison,
they will be disappointed if they are unable to expose the
"shadowy network" responsible for recruiting and encouraging
the youths to commit the murders. The court granted the
defendants more time to prepare, scheduling the next hearing
for January 14. End summary.

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Amid Massive Security,
Tiny Courtroom Bristles With Tension
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2. (U) Police permitted only seven outside observers
(including EmbOff, the German Consul and an EU
representative) in the tiny courtroom for the November 23
opening session of the trial of seven men accused of
murdering three Christian bookstore workers in Malatya on
April 18. About 60 others were denied entry, including
members of Turkey's Protestant community. The three-judge
panel denied a request for a larger courtroom. The five
defendants directly involved in the murders face multiple
life sentences for murder, terrorist acts, undermining
democracy, and interfering in the workplace. Two defendants
face lesser charges for allegedly conspiring in planning the
murders. All defendants are 19 or 20-year old high-school
graduates who were attending college or doing odd jobs for
little income at the time of the murder.


3. (SBU) The mood inside the packed courtroom was tense. The
three widows sat just feet away from the accused and most of
their fathers. Twenty police officers lined the courtroom
walls and twenty Jandarma officers, armed with rifles, stood
for the five-hour session in the rows immediately in front of
and behind the seven defendants. Additional Jandarma guards
sat between defendants. Several of the attorneys for the
victims' families told us they had never seen such a massive
security presence in court.

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Widows' Passionate Pleas to the Court
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4. (SBU) Susan Geske, the German victim's widow, made a
passionate plea to the judge in response to a defense counsel
motion to exclude the three widows as named parties in the
case (a designation that allows their attorneys to call
witnesses and present arguments). She told the court she had
lived in Malatya for ten years in peace and harmony with her
neighbors. Even the local Imam consoled her and attended her
husband's funeral. The brutal murder had upended her life
and caused her unimaginable grief. Despite the pain, she
decided to remain with her three children in Malatya because
of her strong connection to the city.


5. (SBU) Semse Aydin, another widow, described her pain and
said her children continue to ask her if they will be killed
because they are Christians. Aydin said it was well-known
that as-yet unnamed parties were responsible for recruiting
the youths accused of the murders. The prosecution had

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inadequately probed for information regarding these "real
insiders," she charged. Aydin presented a letter to the
court from an alleged informer who claimed that Jandarma
officers and a theology professor had recruited and
encouraged the defendants. She urged the prosecutors to
redouble their efforts to find these "truly responsible"
parties. The court ruled that the widows had suffered damage
and as a result could remain parties in the case.

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Victims' Attorneys: Defendants Committed "Hate Crimes"
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Lead attorney for the victims' families Ergin Cinmen
organized approximately 15 attorneys as his "assistants" to
raise the case's profile. This "who's who" of Turkey's human
rights legal community traveled from Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara,
and Diyarbakir to attend the trial. Among the notables:
Fethiye Cetin, counsel for the family of murdered journalist
Hrant Dink; Oya Aydin, counsel for outspoken human rights
defender Professor Baskin Oran; and Tahir Elci, who came to
Malatya from Strasbourg, France, immediately after he
finished arguing the case before the European Court of Human
Rights to abolish the ten percent election threshold in
Turkey.


7. (SBU) In his opening statement, Ali Koc argued the murders
were "hate crimes" because the defendants were not murdering
individuals they knew but were killing Christians as part of
what they considered their patriotic and religious duty.
Similarly, the January murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist
Hrant Dink and the 2006 murder of Trabzon Catholic Priest
Santoro were hate crimes that exhibited such intolerance for
"outsiders." According to Koc, the government worried that
these crimes would negatively impact Turkey's EU bid and
tourism industry, and had failed to treat them as the
abhorrent acts they were. He blamed the media for stoking an
atmosphere of hatred in Turkey. He charged the judiciary
with failing to properly investigate and try these cases,
noting as one example that Malatya prosecutors had opened 15
investigation files on the defendants and 16 on the victims
and their relatives. The court refused Koc's motion to
exclude the 16 victims' files, reasoning that the defense
counsel may need them to put on its case.


8. (SBU) Attorney Ergin Cinmen argued that the crimes
constituted "genocide" because the defendants did not kill
out of hatred for the individual victims but merely because
they were members of a minority group. He challenged the
prosecutors and defense counsel to respond to his argument.
Cinmen also blamed the media, charging that local journalists
had provoked violence by labeling the Christians in Malatya
agents of Israel and the CIA. Local media in Trabzon had
written similar things following the assassination of Hrant
Dink, he noted. "In all of these cases, we are holding the
local media responsible for inciting violence," he concluded.


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Court Grants Defendants an Extension
--------------


9. (U) Counsel for the victims' families did not object to a
defense request for additional time to interview witnesses,
stating that a proper defense was fundamentally important to
a fair trial. The court adjourned the trial until January
14, at which time the defense will give opening remarks and
examine witnesses.

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True Justice Requires More than a Conviction
--------------


10. (C) Following the court session, attorneys Fethiye Cetin
and Oya Aydin predicted the three judges, nervous handling
their first high-profile case, will be reluctant to do
anything other than convict the five main defendants of
murder and sentence them to life in prison (Turkey abolished
the death penalty in 2002). Both added they would not be
fully satisfied unless the "shadowy network" responsible for
recruiting and encouraging the youths to commit the murders

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is exposed. During the trial, they hope to delve into
defendants' contacts with those they allege are behind the
murders. They strongly suspect, however, that the judges may
not want to be seen as vigorously protecting the interests of
Christians and other minorities, and expect they will refuse
to permit a probing line of questioning.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON