ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)-A lawyer representing the family of the assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was found dead in his home Friday in unclear circumstances.
The DPA news agency said Hakan Karadag was found hanging in his Istanbul home. It was not immediately clear if foul play is suspected. Police removed the lawyer's body to conduct a forensic examination.
The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News quoted unnamed sources close to the Dink family as saying that Karadag most probably committed suicide. "However, as he was a lawyer working on the Dink murder case, the police are looking at the possibility that he might have been murdered, although it is only a slight possibility," the source said.
Dink, who ran the Turkish-Armenian newspaper "Agos," was murdered in an Istanbul street while on his way to work on January 19, 2007. The suspected shooter, Ogun Samast, accused of having ties to ultranationalist groups, is currently on trial for the crime. Dink's relatives and friends have repeatedly accused Turkish law-enforcement authorities of not doing enough to identify and punish the masterminds of the shock assassination.
Samast reportedly made a threatening hand gesture to Karadag during a court hearing in his continuing trial. According to "Today's Zaman," the lawyer reported the incident to the presiding judge.
