Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 Violent Attacks and killings Turkey witnessed an increased climate of intolerance in which journalists, human rights defenders and others attempting to voice dissenting opinions were subject to violent threats and attacks by ultranationalist groups. On 19 January Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights defender Hrant Dink was shot dead. Hrant Dink, 53, was a passionate promoter of the universality of human rights who appeared on different platforms with human rights activists, journalists and intellectuals across the political spectrum. Best known for his willingness to debate openly and critically issues of Armenian identity and official versions of history in Turkey relating to the massacres of Armenians in 1915, Hrant Dink also wrote widely on issues of democratization and human rights. AI believed that he was targeted because of his work as a journalist who championed freedom of expression. He had been repeatedly prosecuted under Article 301 of the Penal Code that criminalizes “denigrating Turkishness”. The suspected gunman was alleged to have stated that he killed Hrant Dink after seeing him on television making statements which “denigrated Turkishness”.(see AI Index: EUR 44/001/2007) 121 had informed the Şişli public prosecutor in Istanbul. According to the indictment one of those being brought to trial in connection with his death had also acted as a police informer and had repeatedly told police of the plan to assassinate Hrant Dink in the months leading up to his death. Nevertheless, the authorities failed to take the necessary steps to ensure protection for him. Before the investigation into Hrant Dink’s death started, the Istanbul Police Chief made a statement to the effect that Hrant Dink’s murder was not politically motivated or organized but rather the act of a lone gunman on the basis of nationalist sentiments. AI was concerned that such a statement, coming so quickly after the incident, not only could have jeopardized the impartiality of the subsequent investigation but also illustrated an official reluctance to examine the full scope of the case. AI was also concerned about footage that appeared in the media of law enforcement officers posing with the suspected gunman in front of a Turkish flag as if he was a “hero”. Such footage contributes to the perception that some sections of law enforcement agencies may be biased. The trial of the suspected gunman and 17 others who are alleged to have taken part in the murder of Hrant Dink was scheduled to start on 2 July. AI was deeply concerned over the conduct of the Turkish authorities both in the period leading up to the killing and during the subsequent investigation of the murder. On 18 April two Turkish nationals and a German citizen were killed in Malatya. The men reportedly had their hands and feet bound together and their throats cut. All staff members of the Zirve Christian publishing house, they had previously been subjected to threats from nationalist groups. AI considered the violent killings to be an attack on freedom of expression and religion and urged the Turkish authorities to condemn all forms of intolerance and discrimination and to ensure that the killings were promptly, independently and effectively investigated, with all suspected perpetrators brought to justice. By the end of the period under review charges had been brought against four men caught at the scene of the attack and against one woman who allegedly aided the group (see AI Index: EUR 44/006/2007). For several months prior to his death, Hrant Dink had been receiving death threats and On 1 April supporters of the Turkish Communist Party (Türkiye Komünist Partisi, On 23 January in Istanbul as many as 100,000 mourners attended the funeral procession, many of them carrying placards declaring “We are all Armenians” and “We are all Hrant Dink” in an unprecedented show of solidarity. Amnesty International AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007