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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000594 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM AA OSCE TU
SUBJECT: DINK LAWYER OPTIMISTIC DESPITE CONCERNS OF GROWING 
NATIONALISM 
 
REF: A. ISTANBUL 370 
     ¶B. ANKARA 1194 
     ¶C. ANKARA 1707 
 
Classified By: Consul Genereal Sharon A. Wiener for reasons 1.4(b) and 
(d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  The Prime Ministry Inspection Board's 
report summarizing the findings of its investigation into the 
murder of Hrant Dink concludes that security officials could 
have prevented Dink's murder had they acted on available 
intelligence.  Dink family lawyer Fethiye Cetin  told us she 
is optimistic the report will help fuel a discussion about 
Turkey's past but is pessimistic the report will lead to a 
new investigation into the negligence on the part of the 
police and Jandarma. Given uncertainty over the GOT's 
actions, Cetin and the Dink family are pursuing several cases 
to the European Court of Human rights , including one against 
the GOT for halting investigations into negligence by 
Jandarma officials in Trabzon. She argues that Dink's murder 
is the result of long term (from 2004 until the murder in 
2007) planning by a very well organized group. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Leaked to the press prior to the Prime Minister's 
approval, the Prime Ministry Inspection Board's two hundred 
-page report summarizes the findings of a one and a half-year 
investigation into the January 19, 2007 murder of Hrant Dink. 
The Board concluded that Dink's murder could have been 
averted had officials resolved the bombing of a McDonald's in 
Trabzon, the home of the primary murder suspect, in 2004. 
Erhan Tuncel, the alleged mastermind of the plot against 
Dink, was linked to the McDonald's bombing but did not appear 
in court. Had Tuncel been questioned during the bombing 
trial, his strong ties to violent ultranationalist groups 
would have been more apparent. The report also concluded that 
security officials failed to provide Dink protection despite 
credible intelligence about a plot to kill him. According to 
the report, both the police and the Jandarma had tips about 
the plot to kill Dink, but did not share intelligence with 
the other.  The Board suggests that the Prime Ministry open a 
new investigation for neglect against police and Jandarma 
officials in Trabzon, pointing out that Dink had not received 
protection despite the tips about an assassination plot. The 
Board also noted in the report that officials from the 
Ministry of Justice were uncooperative during its 
investigation. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Despite the Board's recommendation, a new 
investigation into the negligence of the police and Jandarma 
in Trabzon is unlikely, according to Dink family lawyer 
Fethiye Cetin.  In order to open a new case against security 
officials, she said, the prosecutor would need to present new 
evidence of negligence. Cetin said that because such new 
evidence is not available now, the family is pursuing two 
cases against the GOT in the European Court of Human Rights 
for halting investigations into the negligence of the 
Jandarma and police.  After the GOT stopped investigating the 
Jandarma in Trabzon, Cetin submitted a case to the ECHR in 
the end of 2007 and another concerning the Trabzon police in 
May 2008.  Cetin said she is also pursuing a case in the 
Regional Administrative Court against the Samsun and Istanbul 
Jandarma officials. Finally, Cetin is preparing a case for 
the ECHR against the GOT for halting investigations into the 
negligence of Jandarma in Samsun and Istanbul. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Reflecting on the murder Cetin told us, "Dink's 
murder was very well planned by a very well organized group 
of individuals working since early 2004. It was not just the 
gunman who pulled the trigger." According to Cetin, the 
evidence she has collected so far points to a larger group of 
guilty individuals, including prominent figures Veli Kucuk 
and Oktay Yildirim, both of whom were named in the Ergenekon 
indictment and are currently in jail pending the outcome of 
that trial.  These individuals, she contended, "prepared the 
psychological atmosphere" for Dink's murder and used the 
Jandarma and police to prevent a proper investigation into 
his death. 
 
¶5. (C) Cetin is optimistic that the Board's report will lead 
to more dialogue on the topic of Dink's murder and Turkey's 
history, but said "nationalistic" comments made by PM Erdogan 
recently are a cause for concern.  Poverty and growing 
unemployment, especially in Turkey's East, fuel a search for 
blame, according to Cetin.  The GOT may be promoting violent 
nationalism as a safe channel for the ruling AKP party for 
reactions to poverty, she said.  If  AKP is becoming more 
nationalistic, Cetin predicted that it will be more 
"difficult to protect freedom of speech and have necessary 
 
ISTANBUL 00000594  002 OF 002 
 
 
discussions about Turkey's past." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  The Prime Ministry's Inspection Board's 
findings and recommendations suggests that the GOT engage in 
a dialogue about the impact of nationalism and "deep state" 
actions.  The Ergenekon trial of accused "deep state" actors 
such as Veli Kucuk is perceived by others like Cetin to be a 
long needed GOT warning to others contemplating violent 
nationalist acts. The GOT's choice to commission and release 
the report suggests a desire to expose deep state networks 
and shares similar objectives with the Ergenekon 
investigation (Ref C). 
WIENER