ISTANBUL, Jan 20: Turkish police on Saturday released images of a man suspected of killing journalist Hrant Dink, one of Turkey's most prominent ethnic Armenians, as the government came under fire for failing to protect him despite nationalist threats.

The footage, reportedly taken from the security cameras of shops in the street where the 53-year-old Dink was shot dead on Friday, showed a lean, young man clad in a denim jacket and jeans and wearing a white beret.

The suspect, whose identity remained unknown, was holding an object, which officials said was a gun, under his jacket.

The police appealed to the public to help with information about the assailant and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed the government would do “whatever it takes” to find and punish the perpetrator.

Three people detained on Friday following the murder were released and no one remained in custody as of Saturday, officials said.

Despite the government's pledges of swift action, anger boiled over the murder outside the office of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos in downtown Istanbul, where Dink was hit by three bullets in the head and the neck.

The press accused the government of failing to protect a man who had openly written about receiving threats and hate mail.

In a Jan 12 column in Agos, Dink also mentioned he was summoned by one of Istanbul's deputy governors back in 2004 and warned that he might become the target of nationalist violence if he did not tone down his writings.—AFP