The Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld an earlier court decision to sentence Ogün Samast, the hitman in the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, to 22 years, 10 months in prison, Today's Zaman repored.
The high court's 1st Criminal Chamber upheld last year's ruling by a juvenile court to sentence Samast, who was a minor at the time of the crime, to 21 years, six months for "premeditated murder" and one year, four months for carrying an unlicensed gun.
Dink, the editor-in-chief of Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was gunned down outside his office in İstanbul in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007. The murder shocked Turkey and the ensuing trial became mired in controversy with Dink's family and human rights activists arguing that links between suspects in the case and the real masterminds of the murder, suspected to be in the military and police force, were not sufficiently investigated.
The hitman, Samast was captured one day after the murder. Other suspects, including Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, were captured in the following days on charges of soliciting Samast for Dink's murder.
The court hearing the primary murder trial sentenced Hayal to life for soliciting Samast to murder Dink, but ruled there was no organized criminal network linked to the murder. The ruling angered the Dink family's lawyers and many others who say the trial failed to shed light on alleged connections between the suspects and state officials.