  Turkish PM says he never depicted his deputy as Dink murder suspect May 21, 2011 - 14:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he never depicted his deputy, Cemil Çiçek, as a “suspect” in Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink’s murder during a conversation with Dink’s son in 2007. The claim was made Arat Dink in a column for the liberal daily Taraf. “We asked Prime Minister during his visit to our house to express his condolences whether we could mention about former Justice Minister C.Ç. [Cemil Çiçek] as a ‘murderer’” in pointing to Hrant Dink as a target, Arat Dink wrote in his piece. “The Prime Minister rightly guided us by saying, ‘Don’t call him a murderer, call him a suspect.’” Erdoğan denied the conversation with Arat Dink in a speech he made in Kars on the Armenian border, Hurriyet Daily News reported. “If this boy said so, then I deplore him. But I condemn this newspaper for this story,” he said during an election campaign. “I have never used such an expression for my Deputy Prime Minister.” A lawyer for the Dink family refused to make comments.   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 |  Latest news International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine  Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets.Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty.Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran.Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |
