Ogün Samast

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Ogün Samast (b. 1990[1][2] in Trabzon[3]) is a Turkish ultra-nationalist who killed Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on January 19, 2007 in front of the headquarters of his newspaper Agos, in Osmanbey, Istanbul.

Contents

[edit] Background

Samast's family is from Düzköy district of Trabzon Province[4]. His parents live apart.[5] He had dropped out of high school,[6] was unemployed[7]and may have been a drug user.[8] The Turkish media has also reported that Samast has been described by his family as "calm and withdrawn", whilst his friends have labelled him "aggressive and contentious", pointing out that he had been "kicked off" his local football team for aggression. The report also stated that Samast spent a lot of time on the Internet.[9]

[edit] Murder suspect

[edit] Arrest

Samast was identified by his father, Ahmet Samast,[5] who informed the police after he saw CCTV footage of his son on TV.[10] He was detained on Saturday January 20, the day after the murder, in an operation at the main bus station in Samsun. What is thought to be the murder weapon was found in his possession.[1]

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Samast's arrest.[2]

[edit] Later developments

According to the official state-run news agency Anadolu, he has confessed to the killing and stated that he did not have any regrets.[11] However, several days later it was reported that Samast had stated that he was very sorry that he had killed Hrant Dink[12]. The following Monday, the Turkish police announced that Yasin Hayal, an ultra-nationalist militant who bombed a McDonald's restaurant in Trabzon in 2004, confessed to telling Samast to kill Dink and supplying the murder weapon.[13] Ogün Samast's uncle, Faik Samast has said that he did not believe that his nephew had acted alone, stating that he did not know his way around Istanbul.[14] Later, Hayal and Samast confessed that the murder was planned by Erhan Tuncel who is allegedly a police informer[15]

A Radikal story of 2 February 2007 featured pictures of Samast holding up a Turkish flag, flanked by smiling government employees.[16] A police spokesman indicated that an investigation into the video was underway.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Katil zanlısı yakalandı", Hürriyet, January 20, 2007.  (Turkish)
  2. ^ a b "Hrant Dink murder suspect caught", BBC News, January 20, 2007. 
  3. ^ Bir Cinayetin Anatomisi (Turkish)
  4. ^ "Arrested with the notification of his family", Sabah (English Edition). Retrieved on 2007-01-28. 
  5. ^ a b "Assassin caught in assassination of Hrant Dink", TurkishPress.com, January 21, 2007. 
  6. ^ Wider involvement suspected in Hrant Dink's assassination International Herald Tribune
  7. ^ Turkey probes ultra-nationalists in journalist murder Middle East Times
  8. ^ Turkish murder suspect: No ties CNN
  9. ^ "Profile of Hrant Dink's Juvenile Murder Suspect", Turkish Daily News, 2007-01-22. Retrieved on 2007-01-28. 
  10. ^ "Hrant Dink murder suspect named", BBC News, January 20, 2007. 
  11. ^ "Teen admits killing Turkish journalist"", CNN, January 21, 2007. 
  12. ^ "Trabzon circle of suspects widens; Ogun Samast says "I am sorry I killed him"", Hürriyet. Retrieved on 2007-01-25. 
  13. ^ "A "Trabzon Legend" gave the orders to kill Hrant Dink", Hürriyet, 2007-01-22. Retrieved on 2007-01-22. 
  14. ^ "Who is behind killing?", The New Anatolian, 22 January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-28. 
  15. ^ "Cinayeti Erhan Tuncel planladı", Radikal, 8 February 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-13. 
  16. ^ "Samast'a jandarma karakolunda kahraman muamelesi/Katili bir alnından öpmedikleri kalmış", Radikal, 2 February 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.  (Turkish)

[edit] External links