Dink family will distribute compensation to educational institutions in Turkey

The money that the Turkish state will pay to the family of the slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink as compensation will be distributed to educational institutions, Dink’s widow Rakel Dink said as she addressed the public on Tuesday on the very site Dink was assassinated in 2007.

On Tuesday European Court of Human Rights found Turkish state guilty of failing to protect Dink’s right to life and freedom of expression.

The court also found Turkey guilty of failing to protect Dink’s right to due legal process and ordered the state to pay 105,000 Euros to his family in total compensation, as well as an extra 28,595 Euros to the court for expenses.

Among the educational institutions that the compensation will be distributed to are also Central Armenian College and the Protestant Church after Gedik Pasha.

According to Turkish daily Milliyet, Mrs. Rakel also said that the court’s ruling came as a present to Hrant on the occasion of his birthday (Hrant Dink was born on 15 Sept. 1954). Further she said that they would leave Turkey, would the court not satisfy their request.

“In a planned and organized way some people wanted to have the Turkish society believe that Hrant has insulted the Turkishness, and as if he is an enemy of Turkey,” said she in tears.

“Given this ruling we want to believe that a lot will be changed in Turkey in terms of judiciary and politics. We are hopeful that from now on the Turkish state will quit its working style of justifying the guilty and accusing the innocent,” said she.