European Parliament observed a minute’s silence in Hrant Dink’s memory

The European Parliament observed a minute’s silence in memory of slain journalist Hrant Dink, a leading member of Turkey’s tiny Armenian minority and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Agos’ bilingual Armenian-Turkish weekly. He was gunned down outside his editorial office in central Istanbul on January 19. “I would like, in the name of the European Parliament to express our indignation,” said the assembly’s president Hans-Gert Poettering during a plenary session in Brussels. “The fact that thousands attended Dink’s burial gives us hope that this sad event will be a catalyst for the Turkish authorities to go forward with fresh reforms to guarantee freedoms,” he added. The European Union has repeatedly called on candidate nation Turkey to reform its penal code, which limits the freedom of expression.