The High Criminal Court of Rize (eastern Black Sea coast) dismissed the appeal against the decision to drop procedures related to the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist, editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos newspaper Hrant Dink, Bianet agency reported

The joint attorneys of the family of the slain journalist had filed an appeal with the Rize Court against the decision given by the Trabzon High Criminal Court.

Accordingly, Faruk Sarı and Engin Dinç, on duty for the Chief of the Trabzon Police Intelligence Branch; the two former Chiefs of the Trabzon Police, Ramazan Akyürek and Reşat Altay; Muhettin Zenit who was responsible for the communication with assistant intelligence staff member Erhan Tuncel; Özkan Mumcu, Mehmet Ayhan and Onur Karakaya, Department Chief Inspector Ercan Demir and the Chief of the Trabzon Anti-Terror Branch, Yahya Öztürk, will not be prosecuted in the context of the Dink murder.

The Dink family lawyers demanded the investigation of the above mentioned persons and later on appealed the decision for the closing of procedures. Both their petition and the appeal put forward that the officials of the Trabzon police at the time were responsible for the killing of Hrant Dink.