Today, January 19, 2026 marks the 19th anniversary of Hrant Dink's assassination.

Dink was one of Turkey's prominent intellectuals known for his fearless statements and bold articles commenting on the most complex political issues.

Hrant Dink, a prominent Istanbul Armenian journalist and editor-in-chief of Agos, the only weekly newspaper published in Armenian and Turkish in Turkey, was assassinated on January 19, 2007, in front of Agos’ then editorial office, by three gunshots fired from behind in the head, on ethnic grounds.

The killer had shouted "gavur"—which in Turkish means "infidel" or "unbeliever," often used with contempt for non-Muslims—as he had fled the scene, which gives grounds to assume that the murder was committed on ethnic grounds.

On suspicion of committing the murder, the police arrested then 17-year-old Ogun Samast at the bus terminal in the Turkish city of Samsun, and he confessed to his guilt during the first interrogation.

Dink's murder caused a huge wave of protests. Protests and mourning marches of many thousands were held in many cities of Turkey, Armenia, and numerous other countries.

Hrant Dink once had said about himself: "The position I occupy is characterized as follows: I am the bearer of two identities and two consciousnesses. First, I am a resident of Turkey, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey... Second, I am Armenian. In addition to being a part of the Armenian community in Turkey, I am also morally a part of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, a compatriot of those people. Despite all this, if some people have even one reason to strive for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, then my reasons are at least twice as many. Examine me by whatever identity you want. There is no difference."

In June 2007, Hrant Dink was posthumously awarded the Armenian President's Award.