Turkish court acquits policemen posing with Dink murdererOctober 23, 2008 - 16:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Two senior police officers charged with negligence over the leaked photos of police and gendarmerie officers posing with the man suspected of murdering Agos editor Hrant Dink were found not guilty yesterday, Anatolia News Agency reports.'Souvenir photos' with suspect is not a crime, the court decided. Ultra-nationalist teenager Ogun Samast gunned down Dink outside his newspaper office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007 and was captured by the gendarmerie on his way back to his hometown of Trabzon on the Black Sea. The murder of Dink, who was tried under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, caused serious domestic and international criticism. The photos of the suspect with police and gendarmerie officers appeared in the media, causing a huge embarrassment for the department. Two senior police officers were charged with dereliction of duty by allowing the photos to be taken and then leaked to the media and causing the public to believe the department sympathized with the murder suspect. The court said there was no evidence the charged officers were responsible for the leak and found both defendants not guilty. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |