Turkish-Armenian journalist gets six months
Güncelleme Tarihi:
A Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dinnk, was given a six-month suspended sentence on Friday by an Istanbul court for insulting the Turkish national identity. Dink, the editor of a bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos was called to trial for an article that appeared in the publication in February 2004 that called for Armenians to turn to the new blood of independent Armenia, which alone can free them of the burden of the Diaspora." Dink also called for Armenians to reject "the adulterated part of their Turkish blood".
Dink and his lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, said they would appeal the decision.
The court said Dink's article "was not an expression of opinion with the aim of criticizing, but was intended to be insulting and offensive," reported the Anatolia news agency said.
"Our client has done absolutely nothing wrong," Cetin told AFP, but said she would not comment further without seeing the minutes of the hearing.
Dink, who did not attend the hearing, told AFP that he would appeal "to the full extent of the law." "If the sentence is confirmed, it will mean I have insulted these people (the Turks) and it would be great dishonor for me to live on the same street, in the same neighborhood, in the same country as them," he said.
"Such a thing would be impossible for me... If I cannot explain to this (Turkish) society that I had no such intentions, I'll leave the country, I'll go away."