The DPA news agency said Hakan Karadag was found hanging in his Istanbul home. It was not immediately clear if foul play is suspected.
“Hurriyet Daily News” quoted unnamed source close to the Dink family as saying that Karadag most probably committed suicide. “However, as he was a lawyer working on the Dink murder case, the police are looking at the possibility that he might have been murdered, although it is only a slight possibility,” the source said.
But some relatives of the lawyer ruled out the suicide theory. “I just saw him yesterday, he did not have any suicidal issues,” “Today’s Zaman” quoted his uncle Habip Karadag as telling journalists. “He said he has a case that he has to attend and left saying ‘hope to see you in the afternoon.’”
Dink, who ran the Turkish-Armenian newspaper “Agos,” was murdered in an Istanbul street while on his way to work on January 19, 2007. The suspected shooter, Ogun Samast, accused of having ties to ultranationalist groups, is currently on trial for the crime. Dink’s relatives and friends have repeatedly accused Turkish law-enforcement authorities of not doing enough to identify and punish the masterminds of the shock assassination.
Samast reportedly made a threatening hand gesture to Karadag during a court hearing in his continuing trial. According to “Today’s Zaman,” the lawyer reported the incident to the presiding judge.