DINK ATTORNEY ON HRANT MURDER TRIAL, ARAT ARTICLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000957

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TU
SUBJECT: DINK ATTORNEY ON HRANT MURDER TRIAL, ARAT ARTICLE
301 CONVICTION

REF: A. ISTANBUL 0538


B. ISTANBUL 0897

Classified By: Consul General Sharon A. Wiener for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary. Attorney Fetiye Cetin updated us on the
status of two prominent court cases, in which she is
representing the Dink family: the Arat Dink Article 301 case
and trial of the accused Hrant Dink murderer. Cetin admitted
her skepticism concerning GOT resolve to fully investigate
and bring to justice those responsible for the January 19
assassination of the Turkish-Armenian human rights advocate.
International pressure on the Turkish government would be
essential to effect a thorough and transparent judicial
process. Cetin also confirmed her plans to appeal the
October 11 Article 301 conviction of Hrant's son Arat and an
Agos newspaper colleague, pending receipt of the judge's
legal justification for his decision. End summary.

Arat Dink's Article 301 Conviction
--------------


2. (C) Dink family attorney Fetiye Cetin, during an October
24 meeting, discussed with us the status of Arat Dink's
Article 301 case (ref A) and the trial of his father Hrant's
murderer (ref B). Regarding the one-year suspended jail
sentence handed down to Arat and his Agos weekly newspaper
colleague Serkis Seropyan following their October 11
conviction for "insulting Turkishness," Cetin stated she had
filed her intention to appeal the decision to the Higher
Court of Appeals (Yargitay),but was still waiting to receive
the legal justification behind the conviction. She noted the
judge, while handing down the sentence, reasoned a one-year
suspended term (vice the minimum six-month term) was
appropriate due to the "personality of the defendants and
their activities."


3. (C) The case against Arat Dink and Seropyan stemmed from
Agos re-printing a Reuters interview in which Hrant Dink
refers to the events of 1915 as "genocide." Cetin explained
she had argued in court that other newspapers, including
ultra-nationalist Yeni Cag, had re-printed the interview
prior to Agos but had not faced similar indictments. She had
hoped the judge would recognize this discrimination and
acquit the defendants, and lamented the judiciary's role in
facilitating the use of Article 301 as a "tool of hatred."
Cetin observed that the day after the conviction, newspapers
showed images of people protesting against Arat Dink and
Seropyan, suggesting "the same oppression" which haunted the
elder Dink continues. She proffered that silencing Agos was
probably the real goal of those who advanced this conviction.
The decision proves that unless Article 301 is abolished,
such abuses will persist.


4. (C) Regarding the timing of the conviction - one day
following the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC)
approval of the Armenian "genocide" resolution (AGR) - Cetin
had considered a possible link but concluded it was likely
just coincidence. If the judge had ever really been inclined
to acquit, the case would have been dropped in the earlier
stages of the trial, though a possible link between the
one-year sentence and the HFAC vote could not be dismissed.
"Of course, the law should be above all of this, but it is
also true that resolutions passed by other countries give
these people a stronger hand," Cetin remarked.


5. (C) Asked whether Arat Dink had received any threats
following his Article 301 conviction, Cetin responded he had
received a few via e-mail immediately following the decision;
they have been referred to a prosecutor. Threats against
Arat and Agos seem to come in waves, she said, intensifying,
for instance, following the October 10 HFAC vote before
tapering off again. Cetin noted the government responds to
such threats with a police presence outside of Arat Dink's
residence and the Agos office building. She added that Arat
quietly left the country for a couple of weeks following the
conviction, as friends and colleagues had encouraged him to
do. Cetin, herself, had not received any direct threats but
did come across some associated with her name on the Internet.

Hrant Dink Murder Trial and Investigation
--------------


6. (C) Turning to the investigation and trial of Hrant
Dink's accused murderer (scheduled to resume on February 11,
2008),Cetin admitted she was not confident in the legal
process. She maintained security and government officials
were guilty of negligence on two counts: for failing to
attempt to prevent the murder, despite having prior knowledge
that Dink was a target; and for failing to thoroughly
investigate those suspected of complicity after the murder.
Worse still, argued Cetin, was the clear manipulation of
evidence by authorities. Even the prosecutor has lamented
that some information had been blacked out and evidence lost,
changed or damaged. Cetin believed this was the natural
result of the investigations being carried out by persons who
should themselves be investigated.


7. (C) Expressing the Dink family's and her own appreciation
for continued USG interest in these two cases and in the
murder investigation, Cetin stressed that pressure from the
international community is helpful, especially since GOT
determination to make reforms seems to have stalled since

2005. Citing the UN commission established to investigate
former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri's assassination, she
suggested that an international initiative to request
periodic reports from Turkey on the status of the Dink murder
investigation would be an effective means to hold the GOT
accountable for pursuing justice in this matter. Given the
current political environment in Turkey, the UN would be the
best forum for this type of initiative, Cetin concluded.
Comment
--------------


8. (C) Cetin is not alone in her lack of confidence in the
judicial process being applied to the murder investigation.
Many editorialists and commentators have expressed their
conviction that culpability extends well beyond those being
investigated and includes security officials. However, few
are paying attention in the current political environment
where Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorism and the
associated government response are monopolizing headlines.
Any talk of Article 301 reform has been put on hold for the
same reason. We will remain engaged in these issues. End
comment.
WIENER