Joe Crowley: “I rise today to solemnly remember the life of journalist and activist Hrant Dink. On January 19, 2007, Mr. Dink was…”

“I rise today to solemnly remember the life of journalist and activist Hrant Dink. On January 19, 2007, Mr. Dink was gunned down by a Turkish ultranationalist outside his newspaper office in Istanbul, Turkey. Hrant Dink was a man who called for tolerance, peaceful dialogue, and greater civil rights for all Turkish citizens. He was a fierce defender of freedom and believed all people have equal rights under the law. He believed that everyone should have the right to know the truth about their Nation's past, however dark that past may be. Hrant Dink had been prosecuted by the Turkish Government under penal code 301, a law that bans free speech and was used to suppress a wide range of dissenting opinion, from criticism of Turkish Government institutions to opposing official Turkish denial of the Ottoman campaign of genocide against its Armenian population. Under the all-encompassing phrase 'insulting Turkishness,' a citizen in Turkey can receive a prison sentence of up to 3 years with the offense being increased by 50 percent if the so-called offense is committed abroad. Nearly 100 journalists and intellectuals have been prosecuted under article 301, including Nobel Prize author Orhan Pamuk. Many informed observers believe Hrant Dink's prosecution under article 301 opened him up to a campaign of harassment and death threats from ultranationalists, which eventually led to his murder.”