Turkish police intervened in lawyers in Ankara gathered to commemorate prominent human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi on the fourth anniversary of his killing, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Thursday.
The report goes on to say
Police prevented lawyers from opening banners to commemorate Elçi in front of the Turkish capital’s courthouse on the grounds that the gathering was unauthorised, Cumhuriyet said.
Tahir Elçi, former president of the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r Bar Association, was shot dead during a gun battle between the police and unidentified gunmen in Diyarbak?r four years ago.
The prominent human rights lawyer was delivering a speech to advocate peace during Turkish security forces’ operations in the province’s Sur district, targeting members the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey for Kurdish self-rule.
Elçi had become a target of numerous death threats following his statement on a television program that the PKK is not a terrorist organisation. He was later prosecuted for the statement and was facing trial, despite having denounced PKK’s violence.
Several lawyers, including a delegate of French lawyers, also gathered in Istanbul for commemoration, according to Cumhuriyet.
“We take the lives and struggles of all our murdered colleagues, especially Tahir Elçi, as a reference. We will never forget him,” the daily quoted one of the lawyers as saying.
Tahir Elçi’s murder remains unsolved and his perpetrators have yet to be found.
Source: https://ahvalnews.com/tahir-elci/police-intervene-commemoration-slain-kurdish-lawyer-elci