By Eva Sahakyan

Hrant Dink Murder Case" width="239" height="158" />YEREVAN, August 24–The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) satisfied the application of Hrant Dink’s family and found Turkey guilty for abusing the right to live and the right to freedom of speech.

According to Public Television of Armenia, the European Court of Human Rights decided that Turkey had violated the right to free speech, blaming Hrant Dink for insulting the Turkish people and for disrespecting Turkey’s ethnic origin. Turkey also violated Dink’s right to live by not defending him from death threats.

According to the Turkish newspaper Vatan, the Court also blamed Turkey for the unproductive preparation of Hrant Dink’s murder case.

The official decision of the European Court of Human Rights is expected to be announced in September.

Hrant Dink, the chief editor of the Turkish Armenian weekly Agos, was murdered on January 19, 2007 in Istanbul near the paper’s office. A few days later the police arrested 17 year-old Ogün Samast, who admitted the offense, declaring that he killed the journalist for his publications on the Armenian Genocide.

Yerevan Report