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Friday January 19, 10:21 PMTurkish markets fall on news of journalist's deathISTANBUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Turkish shares fell sharply on Friday on the news that controversial Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink had been shot dead, while the lira also weakened.Istanbul's main stock index had risen up to 1.3 percent on Friday during the bourse's second session, but fell uo to 1.1 percent, dropping through the psychologically important 40,000 point mark. "After the news of Hrant Dink's death there was selling. It was an attack that disturbed the peace," said Director of Research at Ak Investment Alim Telci. "The market is giving a reaction to the attack," said one banker. The lira closed at 1.4155 against the dollar, near the time of the attack but weakened further in Monday-dated trade to 1.4180. Turkey's August 13, 2008 benchmark strengthened as yield on the paper closed at 21.10. Hrant Dink had been convicted last year for "insulting Turkish identity," and was widely hated by Turkish nationalists. Last year the appeals court upheld a six-month suspended jail sentence against Dink for referring in an article to an Armenian nationalist idea of ethnic purity without Turkish blood. The court said the comments went against an article of Turkey's revised penal code which lets prosecutors pursue cases against writers and scholars for "insulting Turkish identity". Dink was one of dozens of writers who have been charged under laws against insulting Turkishness, particularly over issues related to an alleged genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One. Turkey denies genocide was committed. The government has promised to revise the much criticised article of the penal code. The European Union has repeatedly called on Ankara to change the law. |
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