Hrant Dink
ISTANBUL—The Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court on Monday acquitted Coskun Igci, one of 19 defendants in the murder case of Hrant Dink, the founder and former editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish Agos weekly who was gunned down in 2007 in front of his office in Istanbul, after forgetting to include him in the final verdict in January.
Igci, who allegedly called on Yasin Hayal to buy a gun with which to shoot Dink, was accidentally left out of the final verdict and the judge issued a ruling separately for him on Monday.
On Sept. 19, 2011, the prosecution recommended his acquittal on the grounds that there was no substantial evidence to suggest he took part in the crime.
Igci’s lawyer said at the court on Monday that his client has no ties to the murder except for being the uncle of Hayal, one of the main suspects.
Igci said at the court that he had informed gendarmerie intelligence officers in Trabzon that a plan to assassinate Dink was in place four months prior to the murder.
“I am not guilty. The people I reported about were tried in Trabzon and they were punished because they neglected their duties. Those people are Col. Ali Oz, Capt. Metin Yıldız, non-commissioned officer Orhan Simsek and Sgt. Veysel Sahin,” he said.
When a judge at the court asked Igci if he had been in contact with those four people, Igci replied that he had contacted Simsek and Sahin, Turkish media report.
