Turkey: Court releases 2 suspects in Dink case

By Muhammed Enes Can and Murat Kaya</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – An Istanbul court on Thursday ordered the conditional release of two suspects in the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink, a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist.</p> <p>Ercan Gun and Muharrem Demirkale were released &quot;under judicial control&quot; while the court ruled for continued detainment of Ramazan Akyurek and Ali Fuat Yilmazer.</p> <p>Other suspects in the case include FETO leader Fetullah Gulen, former FETO-linked prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, former Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanli, and journalists Adem Yavuz Arslan, and Faruk Mercan.</p> <p>They are all charged with intentional killing and attempting to upend the constitutional order.</p> <p>Dink, editor-in-chief of Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was killed outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007.</p> <p>In 2011, Ogun Samast was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the killing. Samast, who was 17 years old in early 2007, claimed he killed Dink for &quot;insulting Turkishness&quot;.</p> <p>Although Samast is the only person to be jailed for the murder, speculation on the involvement of others has persisted.</p> <p>Last year, FETO — which plotted the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 – was officially tied to the case.</p> <p>A 120-page indictment said soldiers and police involved in the Dink murder later played an active role in the coup attempt.</p> <p>* Writing by Dilara Hamit