Elçi case: 'All negligent public officials should be included'

The Human Rights Joint Platform called for the murder of Tahir Elçi not to be left in the dark.

In a statement regarding the case of Tahir Elçi, former President of the Amed (Diyarbakır) Bar Association, who was murdered in 2015, the Human Rights Joint Platform demanded that "all public officials who are responsible for negligence in the murder be included in the case".

In its written statement, the Human Rights Joint Platform called for justice to be done in the murder.

Elçi was killed while making a press statement in front of the Four-Legged Minaret on behalf of the Amed Bar Association on November 28, 2015.

The platform reminded that Elçi had been targeted in a television program hosted by journalist Ahmet Hakan before the murder, and that the case was brought before the court only after five years.

The statement noted that the integrity of the evidence was broken due to the fact that the crime scene investigation was not carried out for 111 days. Reminding that the images were started to be examined only in 2016 and the analysis of a research agency working within Goldsmiths London University were submitted to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in 2018, the Platform added that, “As a result of this study, a strong suspicion of crime concerning the police officers at the scene was pointed out”.

The platform stated that the inclusion of suspected police officers in the investigation and the submission of the indictment to the court in March 2020 after 5 years is a late start for justice.

The statement called for the murder of Elçi to be brought to light with all aspects, for all public officials who engaged in the execution and negligence of the murder to be included in the case, and for the Tahir Elçi murder case not to be left in the dark.