AP
A Turkish court resumed its trial of 19 people accused in the 2007 killing of an ethnic Armenian journalist.The judge said one of the alleged masterminds had testified to warning police of the plans to kill Hrant Dink a full 11 months before the journalist was gunned down in front of his newspaper's Istanbul office, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
The January 2007 killing led to international condemnation, and the trial is seen as a test of Turkey's ability investigate and punish possible negligence by authorities. Human rights activists said evidence suggests police knew about plots to kill Dink but did nothing to prevent it.
The Istanbul 14th Criminal Court judge said Monday that Erhan Tuncel - one of two defendants accused of masterminding the plot - had said under police questioning that he worked as a police informant for two years before telling authorities of the plot, Anatolia reported. It was not clear why Tuncel would have informed police about the plot he is accused of masterminding. Main suspect Ogun Samast is accused of pulling the trigger and killing Dink.
Monday's hearing was the first to be opened to the public. Previous hearings have been held behind closed doors because Samast was a minor. He turned 18 last month. Trial was adjourned until October 13.
Dink - once prosecuted for calling the early 20th century mass killings of Armenians by Turks a genocide - had sought to encourage reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia. He was hated by nationalists, who deny the deaths constituted genocide. Turkey also denies the label, saying the Armenians killed during World War I had been victims of civil war and unrest.