Turkey: Court releases 2 suspects in Dink case

By Muhammed Enes Can and Murat Kaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - An Istanbul court on Thursday ordered the conditional release of two suspects in the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink, a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist.

Ercan Gun and Muharrem Demirkale were released "under judicial control" while the court ruled for continued detainment of Ramazan Akyurek and Ali Fuat Yilmazer.

Other suspects in the case include FETO leader Fetullah Gulen, former FETO-linked prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, former Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanli, and journalists Adem Yavuz Arslan, and Faruk Mercan.

They are all charged with intentional killing and attempting to upend the constitutional order.

Dink, editor-in-chief of Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was killed outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007.

In 2011, Ogun Samast was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the killing. Samast, who was 17 years old in early 2007, claimed he killed Dink for "insulting Turkishness".

Although Samast is the only person to be jailed for the murder, speculation on the involvement of others has persisted.

Last year, FETO -- which plotted the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 – was officially tied to the case.

A 120-page indictment said soldiers and police involved in the Dink murder later played an active role in the coup attempt.

* Writing by Dilara Hamit