Dink's murderer sentenced to nearly 23 years in prison

Ogun Samast was sentenced yesterday to nearly 23 years behind bars for the 2007 murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. The sentence was near the maximum of 24 years, but under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), Samast is unlikely to serve the full time, and could leave prison after as little as 10 years. Dink, the editor in chief of Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, was murdered in front of his newspaper's office in Istanbul in January 2007. "I was influenced by newspapers and some columnists. Otherwise how would I know Hrant Dink, how would I know Agos?" Samast said, defending himself in Istanbul's Juvenile Court yesterday.