Police sources told Reuters today that the magistrate in charge of the case was about to lodge a formal appeal for information to Turkey about Ömer Güney, a Turkish immigrant placed under formal investigation for the murder eight months ago of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez.
The move, Reuters argues, could mark a turning point in the case, which has become a rallying cry for Europe's large population of ethnic Kurds. It comes after disclosures that Guney took at least three trips to Turkey and made dozens of phone calls to contacts there in the months before the killings, lawyers with access to investigation files told Reuters.

According to Nicholas Vinocur, who signed the Reuters piece, the Turkish justice ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on cooperation with France in the case.
The three Kurdish politicians were shot as ceasefire talks to end 29 years of war between the PKK and Turkey were starting.
The key question asked by lawyers and victims' family members is who ordered the killing, reminds Vincour.
French police quickly arrested Güney, 30. Surveillance footage placed him at the scene, and partial DNA from one of the victims was found on a parka belonging to him, lawyers said.
Güney, who says he is innocent, has been awaiting trial for eight months in solitary confinement near Paris. His lawyer, Anne-Sophie Laguens, said she planned to apply to have him freed under court supervision because he was not receiving proper treatment for a brain tumour that induced seizures, says Reuters.
Laguens said she was also waiting for answers from Turkey regarding her client's trips. Guney told investigators he had travelled to Turkey to find a wife and had bought tickets with disability payments he received from the French state.

Lawyers both for Güney and the victims' families in France and in Turkey say the investigation has dragged due to concern about political fallout from a case involving two NATO allies linked by a 2011 bilateral security accord, adds Reuters.
"It's my impression that we (the French investigation) have received more information in this case through Turkish media than through international cooperation," said Antoine Comte, a lawyer for the Kurdish victims in France.
Police sources said Turkish authorities had earlier provided some biographical information about Güney, but the French magistrate was expected to seek responses to recent disclosures.
Reuters said that a spokesman for France's foreign ministry said the French state exerts no influence over judicial investigations. Paris' anti-terrorism court denied that political tension was slowing down the case.

Comte said records of Güney's phone activity with Turkey were placed in the investigations file in July, five months after his arrest, said the Reuters' report. These contacts could be crucial to finding out whether Guney was involved in the killings and, if so, with or without foreign backing. However, the details cannot be checked without help from Turkey, Comte said.
"You need an order from a Turkish judge to identify the interlocutors," said another lawyer for the victims' families, Jean-Louis Malterre.
In France lawyers for victims can join criminal proceedings. They have access to investigation files and participate in trials. The Turkish system has similar provisions.
While the French magistrate prepares to seek information from Turkey, one of the lawyers with access to the investigation file pointed also to hold-ups on the French side.