44 Facts About Hrant Dink

Hrant Dink was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of Agos, journalist and columnist.

Hrant Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness, while receiving numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists.

Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul on 19 January 2007 by Ogun Samast, a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist.

Hrant Dink was shot three times in the head and died instantly.

Hrant Dink was born in Malatya on 15 September 1954, the eldest of three sons to Sarkis Dink, a tailor from Gurun, Sivas, and Gulvart Dink, from Kangal, Sivas.

Hrant Dink's grandmother enrolled the boys at the Gedikpasa Armenian Orphanage; Hrant Dink often noted his grandfather, who spoke seven languages and read constantly, as the role model and father figure who inspired his love of letters.

Hrant Dink received his primary education at the Hay Avedaranagan Incirdibi Protestant Armenian Primary School and Bezciyan School and his secondary education at the Uskudar Surp Hac Armenian High School, working as a tutor at the same time.

Hrant Dink continued his education at Istanbul University, where he studied zoology and became a sympathizer of TIKKO, the armed faction of the Maoist TKP-ML.

Hrant Dink met his future wife, Rakel Yagbasan, when she came to the Tuzla Armenian Children's Camp at age nine in 1968.

Hrant and Rakel Dink had three children: Delal, Arat, and Sera.

Hrant Dink was baptized and married within the Armenian Apostolic Church, but was educated and sheltered at Armenian Protestant institutions and received his introduction to religion within the Protestant sphere.

Hrant Dink was a member of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedikpasa, Istanbul, as well as a member by birth in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Hrant Dink regarded both churches as part of his culture and said that he was not someone who dealt heavily with religious rituals.

In 2001 the camp grounds were sold to a local businessman who intended to build a house on the site until Hrant Dink contacted him and let him know that the land had belonged to an orphanage.

Hrant Dink was one of the founders of Agos weekly, the only newspaper in Turkey published in Armenian and Turkish, serving as its editor-in-chief from its founding in 1996 until his death in 2007.

Hrant Dink had not been a professional journalist until founding Agos.

Hrant Dink soon became well known for his editorials in Agos and wrote columns in the national dailies Zaman and BirGun.

Always willing to speak on the issues faced by Armenians, Hrant Dink emerged as a leader in his community and became a well-known public figure in Turkey.

At its inception, Agos started with a circulation of 2,000, and at the time of Hrant Dink's death had reached a circulation of around 6,000.

Hrant Dink has been criticized for promoting antisemitic themes of blaming Donme converts for the genocide.

Hrant Dink hoped his questioning would pave the way for peace between the two peoples:.

Hrant Dink was one of Turkey's most prominent Armenian voices and, despite threats on his life, he refused to remain silent.

Hrant Dink always said his aim was to improve the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians.

Active in various democratic platforms and civil society organizations, Hrant Dink emphasized the need for democratization in Turkey and focused on the issues of free speech, minority rights, civic rights and issues pertaining to the Armenian community in Turkey.

Hrant Dink featured prominently in the 2006 genocide documentary film Screamers in which he explains:.

Hrant Dink believed that diaspora Armenians should be able to live free of the weight of historical memory, considering first and foremost the needs of the living majority.

Hrant Dink was opposed to the French law that makes denial of Armenian genocide a crime.

Hrant Dink was planning to go to France to commit this crime, when the law came into effect.

Hrant Dink voiced his intention for an "Institute of Armenian Studies" in Istanbul.

Hrant Dink tried to make it the democratic, opposition voice of Turkey, a voice used to inform the public of the injustices committed against the Armenian community.

Hrant Dink promoted a policy of wider integration of Turkish-Armenians into the wider Turkish society.

Hrant Dink claimed that the US is playing the same game, and this time Kurds are falling for it.

Hrant Dink was prosecuted three times for denigrating Turkishness under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Hrant Dink was acquitted the first time, convicted and received a suspended 6-month jail sentence the second time, which he had appealed at the European Court of Human Rights.

The second charge under 301 was pressed for Hrant Dink's article called "Getting to know Armenia", in which he suggested to diaspora Armenians that it was time to rid themselves of their enmity against Turks, a condition he considered himself free of, keeping himself emotionally healthy while at the same time knowing something of discrimination.

Hrant Dink's statement, "replace the poisoned blood associated with the Turk, with fresh blood associated with Armenia" resulted in a six-month suspended sentence.

The appeal suggests that Article 301 compromises freedom of expression and that Hrant Dink has been discriminated against because of his Armenian ethnicity.

Hrant Dink's family has the right to decide whether or not to proceed with the appeal after his death.

On 14 June 2007, the case against Hrant Dink was dropped due to his death, though proceedings for Serkis Seropyan and Arat Dink were scheduled for 18 July 2007.

Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul around 12:00 GMT on 19 January 2007, as he returned to the offices of Agos.

Hrant Dink was sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in prison, and could be eligible for parole in 2021, after serving two thirds of his sentence.

The family of Hrant Dink released a statement on March 26,2021, announcing that the verdicts "could be able to convince neither themselves nor the public," while their lawyer stressed that several public officials who took part in the murder were not even put on trial.

Hrant Dink paid the highest price for his daring; he was threatened, harassed, and eventually murdered.

Hrant Dink succeeded in making the Armenian genocide a Turkish issue, a debate necessary for freedom of expression, of justice and democratisation inside Turkey.