Court acquits officers in bar association head killing case

ANKARA

The court has acquitted three police officers nine years after the 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.

In April, the prosecutor presented his final opinion, requesting the acquittal of the three police officers who were on duty on the day of the incident.

The court on June 12 ordered that three police officers, who appeared before the court by video link, be acquitted because of lack of evidence after a lengthy trial. They stood accused of "causing death by foreseeable negligence" and faced up to six years in prison.

Commenting on the court’s decision, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç reminded that the appeal procedures in higher courts are open, adding that the whole process should be awaited.

"At the beginning, there was interference by the terrorist organization regarding the identification of evidence. Then the trial process started,” Tunç said.

The trial opened in 2020, five years after the killing.

“As of today, the verdict of acquittal has been given, we have just heard. This is the decision of the first instance. There is an appeal process. It is an issue at the trial stage. We will all wait for this judicial process together,” he concluded.