Acquittal sought for officers in bar association head killing case

DIYARBAKIR

The prosecutor has requested the acquittal of three police officers who have been tried without detention in the ongoing trial on the 2015 killing of Tahir Elçi, the former head of the Diyarbakır Bar Association.

Elçi was killed in November 2015 during a press statement in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır as an armed confrontation erupted between security forces and two PKK terrorists near the area. Two police officers were also killed when gunmen opened fire from a car near the gathering.

The prosecutor presented his final opinion, requesting the acquittal of the three police officers who were on duty on the day of the incident and have been tried without arrest for the charge of “causing death by conscious negligence,” said Nahit Eren announced, the current bar association head, in a social media post on April 29.

“In the case of our slain Bar Association president and lawyer Tahir Elçi, which unfolded in front of numerous cameras, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has given its final opinion in favor of the defendants’ acquittal eight years after the incident. That dark day will surely be illuminated one day,” Eren said, criticizing the prosecutor's request.

Local media also reported that the trial was postponed to June 12.

The fugitive PKK terrorist, Uğur Yakışır, faces three consecutive aggravated life sentences for "causing death with possible intent," while the police officers face sentences ranging from two to six years.