This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7197451.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Turks remember slain journalist | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
A ceremony has been held in the Turkish city of Istanbul to commemorate the murder one year ago of the ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. | |
Flowers were laid and candles lit in the street where Mr Dink was shot dead, while a huge picture of him covered part of the building where he worked. | |
Mr Dink campaigned for his country to confront the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I. | |
Observers say Mr Dink's stance made him a hate figure for Turkish nationalists. | |
Nineteen people, including two leaders of an ultra-nationalist group, are currently on trial for his murder at a court in Istanbul. | |
The trial, which began in July, is being held behind closed doors because the alleged gunman, Ogun Samast, is 17 years old. | |
Mr Dink's family has accused the authorities of collusion, and the court is also considering allegations of a cover-up. | |
Target | Target |
At a short ceremony led by Mr Dink's close friends and family, hundreds of people marked his murder at 1457 (1257 GMT) on 19 January 2007 with a moment of silence outside the offices of the Agos newspaper. | |
Dozens of carnations and candles were laid at the spot where the 53-year-old died. | |
A huge photograph of Mr Dink covered the newspaper's building, while mourners in the street pinned smaller pictures to their chests. | |
The murder triggered widespread anger and shock in Turkey Obituary: Hrant DinkDink murder divides Turks | |
The murder of Mr Dink triggered widespread anger and shock in Turkey, and caused massive crowds to take to the streets, chanting: "We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dinks." | |
Mr Dink was a hate figure for extreme nationalists and had received death threats before he was killed. | |
He was well-known for writing articles about the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. | |
Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide, as some countries have done. | |
Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but it denies any genocide, saying the deaths happened during widespread fighting in World War I. | |
But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says his friends believe it was his conviction under the controversial Article 301 - for "insulting Turkishness" - that singled him out as a target. | |
The government has long pledged to amend that law, which is a major obstacle to free speech here, and to Turkey's ambitions of EU membership. | The government has long pledged to amend that law, which is a major obstacle to free speech here, and to Turkey's ambitions of EU membership. |
Its critics say the revisions it has proposed are superficial at best, but even those have not been agreed on officially or unveiled yet, our correspondent says. |