Tahir Elçi, president of Diyarbakır Bar Association killed
Turkey has witnessed another very saddening incident on November 28th 2015, when Lawyer Tahir Elçi, the president of the Diyarbakır Bar Association and a leading Kurdish rights activist, was killed in Diyarbakır.
The lawyer was killed during a shootout in the southeastern province which erupted as he was making a statement to the press. On the other hand, a policeman who was injured in the clash died as well.
As for who was behind the assault was not clear and concerned authorities made some conflicting announcements in regards.
PM Ahmet Davutoğlu said “There might be a plan to assassinate Elçi. A second possibility is that police forces opened fire to protect people there, after an attack by terrorists and Elçi was caught in the crossfire.” He also went on to say “The target is clear. The target is Turkey,” and promised that the perpetrators of the attack would inevitably be found.
On the other hand, Interior Minister Ala said a gunfight had erupted after someone shot at police from an unidentified car, adding that an investigation was under way to shed light on the incident. Four inspectors have been appointed to investigate the case, Ala added
A preliminary autopsy report revealed that Elçi was shot in the back of his neck. Witnesses said Elçi was shot after making a statement to the media. “The moment the statement ended, the crowd was sprayed with bullets,” a local official from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Ömer Taştan, told Reuters. “A single bullet struck Elçi in the head,” he said, adding that 11 people have also been injured in the incident.
SOURCE: MEDIA
