Slain Turk Armenian writer's allies seek fair trial

ISTANBUL, July 2 (Reuters) About 1,000 protesters demanded justice today outside a court where 18 suspects went on trial for the murder of ethnic Armenian editor Hrant Dink in a case that has raised doubts over free speech in Turkey.

Dink, whose comments about the massacres of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 angered Turkish nationalists, was gunned down outside his Istanbul office in January by a 17-year-old who has confessed to the killing.

More than 100,000 people turned out at Dink's funeral to show solidarity and protest against violent ultra-nationalism.

''Shoulder to shoulder against fascism'', the protesters chanted outside the court in the Besiktas district of Istanbul as the first hearing in the Dink case began.

''All of us witnesses want justice'', read their banners.

Security was tight, with more than 500 policemen drafted in.

Dink's lawyers have complained that the murder has not been properly investigated and have expressed fears for the independence of the court, reflecting concerns about the possible involvement of Turkey's so-called ''deep state''.

The ''deep state'' is a loose term used to describe hardline nationalists in the bureaucracy and security forces ready to subvert the law for their own political ends.

The European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, has shown a strong interest in the Dink case, saying it is a litmus test for a justice system often criticised for political bias.

Several Turkish newspapers today quoted one of the main suspects, Yasin Hayal, as saying he and his comrades murdered Dink on the orders of police officers.

''I do not know what this 'deep state' means. I don't know whether it's legal or illegal, but one thing is sure - there was a group controlling us in the police,'' the Radikal daily quoted Hayal as saying in a letter to prosecutors.

''Although you saw this, you have not protected our rights.

Now I ask you, if we were used in the service of the state, is it not the state's duty to protect our rights?'' Police have not publicly commented on the accusations.

Several officials, including the head of police intelligence in Istanbul, have been sacked or reassigned to other jobs over their handling of the Dink case.

Shortly after Dink's murder, video footage came to light showing his suspected killer striking a heroic pose alongside security force members apparently commending him for his act.

Dink, who received many death threats but was not granted proper police protection, had worked for understanding between Turks and Armenians.

But his writings on the 1915 massacres and deportations of Armenians by Ottoman Turks touched a raw nerve in Turkey.

Ankara denies Armenian claims, backed by many historians and by a growing number of foreign parliaments, that the killings amounted to a systematic genocide. It says large numbers of both Muslim Turks and Christian Armenians died in ethnic fighting as the Ottoman Empire collapsed during World War One.

REUTERS RN BST1509