Turkish Foreign Ministry rejects accusations implying government’s attempts to justify Hrant Dink’s murder

Turkish Foreign Ministry rejects accusations implying government’s attempts to justify Hrant Dink’s murder
August 16, 2010 - 12:25 AMT 07:25 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Ministry of Affairs issued a statement to reject accusations implying Turkish government’s attempts to justify the murder of Hrant Dink.
“The loss of Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of Agos weekly, led to a profound sorrow in our country. The Turkish justice has been investigating all aspects of the killing with determination," the statement said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that there were some baseless and distorted accusations in several newspapers in the last two days about the defense submitted by Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on November 19, 2009.
"It is totally inappropriate to claim that the Turkish government tried to find extenuating circumstances for the accused and used expressions in its defense keeping Dink responsible for his killing," he said.
"Dink was one of the most precious intellectuals raised in Turkey. It is impossible to even think about justification of such a heinous assassination. Any implication that the Turkish government was trying to justify the murder is totally unacceptable," he said.
The spokesman said that the defense submitted to the ECHR was prepared on the basis of mere legal and technical elements.
"It is both wrongful and unfair to come to some political consequences about the killing of Dink on the basis of the defense. The loss of Dink led to a profound sorrow in our country and the government condemned the killing in the most harsh way possible. It is our only solace that the suspect was detained and brought to justice shortly after the killing. The Turkish justice has been investigating all aspects of the killing with determination," he added.
52-year-old Dink was shot dead outside his newspaper's offices in Istanbul on January 19, 2007.